For our First Friday Fans at JRS – A Couple of Scheduling Changes to Note

Please note that we will not perform at JRs in April as we will be performing on that first Friday, April 4, as well as on the following Sunday, April 6, with the Chester River Chorale.  Check our Performances page for details.

Also our May performance has canceled due to scheduling conflicts.  We should be back for our regular monthly show at JRs on June 6, so plan to join us then.  Maybe the snow will have melted by then!

Happy Spring!

What to Look for from the Pam Ortiz Band in 2014

We have a couple of interesting projects coming up this year we thought you might want to know about.

Our regular Eastern Shore fans know we have moved our regular first Friday of the month gig to JR’s Pastime Pub (part of the Lemon Leaf Cafe) on High Street in Chestertown.  Please come see us  most first Friday’s from 8 to 11 p.m.

In April we will be part of a special concert series with the 80-plus member Chester River Chorale and Sombarkin. The Chorale will be singing several of our original songs.  Also featured during the concert will be a special gospel mass and Gospel trio Sombarkin (Karen Somerville, Lester Barrett Jr. and Jerome McKinney).  If you have our album, Rattle Them Chains, you have heard Sombarkin on the title cut and on the song, Working Man.  Pam’s songs have been specially arranged for the Chorale.  We are thrilled to be part of these performances which will take place on April 4 and April 6.

Finally, Pam has been working on a musical project with poet and playwright Robert Earl Price.   The project is based on the piece “Blood Burning Moon” from the modernist novel, Cane by Jean Toomer.  We hope to showcase some of the music and get feedback on the project as things move forward.  Look for more details in the future.

As always, thanks for listening to original acoustic music, and come out to see us some time soon!

See Us Twice in One Weekend? Sure . . . Join us for Songs of the Sea on Saturday, Nov. 2

After joining us on Friday, November 1 at JR’s Pastime Pub in Chestertown, consider coming out again on Saturday night, November 2 at 5:15 p.m. at Robert Ortiz Studios, 207C S. Cross Street, Chestertown (Bob’s furniture shop) when we will be performing an evening of sea shanties and Songs of the Sea as part of the Schooner Sultana’s Downrigging Weekend.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased ahead of time (Click Here to Buy Tickets) or at the door.  We promise a completely different show . . . featuring all band members singing and performing their favorite sea shanties, songs of the sea or water.  We’ve had a lot of fun putting this show together.  We hope you’ll join us.

New Venue for Pam Ortiz Band – First Fridays at JR’s Pub in Chestertown

After a couple of years at Evergrain Bakery, we will be moving our First Friday performances to JR’s Pastime Pub at 337 High Street in Chestertown.  When we started at Evergrain (then called Against the Grain), it was just Pam and Bob playing in a corner and trying to revive our musical lives.  Now we are a full complement of five, and between us, our equipment and the crowd, we have simply outgrown the space.  We are very grateful to Doug Rae and his fantastic crew at Evergrain.  They have been wonderful friends and supporters.  We are  looking forward to seeing everyone at JR’s Pasttime Pub (the space that formerly housed Andy’s where great music was heard for many years).  We’ll be there Friday, November 1 from 8 to 10.

Video Song Blog: Oil & Bread

In preparation for last night’s album release party, I created a video of the song Oil & Bread featuring some special family photos.  The song is a musical version of the answer my great grandmother, Rose Garbarini, whom we called Nona, gave, when asked by her daughters why she married their father, Peter or Nono.  My grandmother, Sylvia, was one of eight sisters.  We keep their family photo in our hallway which we have dubbed “The Hall of the Ancestors.”  They were a special bunch of wonderful women.

The video is on our Video and Multimedia page, but you can also click here to see it. Hope you enjoy it.

Oil & Bread Video

Pam

Hear a Live On Air Performance and Interview

This past Sunday, November 25, 2012, Bob and I had the opportunity to participate in a radio interview and live on-air performance at WRNR.  We were featured on the Sunday Brunch show with radio host Michael Buckley.  You can hear our interview and performance by going to the Video & Multimedia page, here:  WRNR Interview.  Thanks to Michael for featuring the new recording,Rattle Them Chains.  You can hear his show regularly from 7:00 – 10:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings on WRNR, 103.1 FM.

Nakashima Studios Concert – POSTPONED

Our dear friends at Nakashima Studios have had to cancel our planned concert originally set for this Sunday, November 4.  They do not have power, and they believe it is likely to remain off for another week!  We are all planning on finding a date to reschedule so stay tuned.  This was to have been a fundraiser to raise funds to send a peace table to South Africa.  You can still contribute by visiting www.nakashimafoundation.org.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Our family and most of our friends and neighbors were not affected significantly by the storm and we are truly grateful.  Remember, “If you’re here then I’m fine, the sun will surely shine, After the Hurricane!”

With best wishes, Pam

 

Wait out Frankenstorm with Us – An Open Rehearsal at the Shop – Sunday at 11

Well, with things shutting down right and left, and since our Sultana Downrigging gig was cancelled, we have decided to host an Open Rehearsal at Bob’s Shop (Robert Ortiz Studios, 207C S. Cross Street, Chestertown), tomorrow, Sunday, October 28 at 11:00 a.m.  If you decide to join us, consider bringing a chair if you want to stay.  It may be a furniture shop, but seating is limited!  We’ll hang out, play some music (sans microphones) and make the most of things.  We’ll try to have a few refreshments on hand.  So, if the rain is not to bad, maybe we’ll see a few of you.  You can even pick up a copy of the CD!  –Pam