Friday November 2nd – Packin’ Em In!!

Wow! ... Wow!  For those that missed it, last Friday broke 7 years of attendance records with 55 Dancers on the Floor for the lessons. Great to see everyone coming out for the lessons and getting a chance to make a bunch of new friends.

This week we started off by reviewing the intermediate Line Dance Summer Sun to the song by the same name by Clayton Anderson. Great dance, well received, check it out. For our new partner dance we taught Long, Long Way to the song by the same name by Alan Jackson. Another cool partner dance, received lots of compliments on this one.

Besides the regular cast and crew, we had Kenn from Germany join us for a second week. For those of you who don’t know Kenn, he’s from here originally and joins us every year when he comes back to visit. Real Nice Guy. When he gets back to Europe, he’s gonna be sending us some of the dances that they’re doing in Germany to check out.

Also got to do a little more chatting with Pam & Jim and Mike & Cheryl who took our lessons at the Castle last week. Nice to see them again. Stop by next week and introduce yourselves and make them feel welcome. It was also really great to see John & Kathy Hunter out again on a Friday. Good Friends, Great Dancers/Instructors.

As promised, Radio Ranch came back from their performance at the Castle and really ROCKED THE HOUSE! Can’t say enough about these guys as musicians and friends. They hit all the Line Dance songs they know we love and kept people on the floor all night long. Great job mixing it  up with 2 Step, Cha, Cha, Swing, Rumba, Polkas etc etc etc. This band really knows how to work the crowd. Gotta Love Justin's solo cover of "Private Malone". Many thanks for Learning “The Wind” and their rendition of 1452 Beers Ago was Spot On! Great Job.  Much appreciated! BTW Thanks for the beer guys. ;-)

Next Friday Stratos will be back for their 3^rd performance at the AMVETS check out their web page HERE! For the lessons next week we’ll be reviewing Long, Long Way and will be teaching a nice easy beginners Line dance to a wicked catchy song and…..... You’re Gonna Like It! It’s one of those easy dances that you get just into so quickly and is pure fun to dance to! See ya there!

Friday - October 19th!

What a Great Night! Another 40+ dancers on the floor when we began our all request dance session at 6:30 with more and more dancers arriving as the night progressed. If this keeps up we're gonna need a bigger floor!

After Friday night I can say with conviction that a local band with one of the coolest logo's around is also one of the coolest bands! Yes, Chickenwire a local band out of the Greenfield, Massachusetts area made their debut performance at the Chicopee AMVETS and really Rocked the House last Friday. Playing mainly upbeat rhythms, they entertained the crowd with a mix of Country, Rock n Roll, Southern Rock etc that kept people up on the floor and dancing all night. They worked well with the Line dancers playing songs they knew dances to and they also threw in a few Buckle Polishers and Hopping Swing Tunes for the Freestylers and Swing Dancers. Nice Guys, Good Musicians, Great debut performance, Give em a "Like" on Facebook  HERE!

Getting good feedback on our new Partner dance HeartStrings from not only our couples but from instructors as far away as the Canada and the UK  taking the time to write us mentioning they like the dance and are going to teach it. Cool...

It's almost time for Western Night at the Castle! Next Saturday Chicopee will be putting on their boots and heading out to the KOC to Kick up their Heels Western Style! The fun starts at 6PM when the bar opens for Cocktails and snacks  and then about  7:00 PM they'll have a beginners dance lesson. At 7:30pm the Western Style Buffet begins with a menu of of Fried Chicken, Chili, Baked Beans, Mexican Style Corn, Salad, Corn Muffins, and Southern Style biscuits. After Dinner you'll be Dancing all night to the down home country sounds of one of the finest country bands in New England, Radio Ranch!  Don't Miss It!

This coming Friday JUST-N-KASE is back at the AMVETS and we have a cool new line dance all picked out that we're really looking forward to teaching! So mark your calendars and start your weekend off right to a night of dancing, throwing down a couple of cold ones and scuffing up some hardwood with all your friends!

2012 Fall Ketchup

Playing Sunday Ketchup on the OEP Blog and we got a lot to catch you up on.

Well Summers Over and it's getting colder and what a summer it was. As a club we had more events this summer then in any other summer in our history and we had a blast! The fall line up is out & looking good and I've attached it to the bottom of this update. 

OEP Shirts- OK, Well we've filled almost all of the One Eyed Parrot shirt orders so if you need any more, let us know and we'll add it to the next batch. 

4 Weeks Ago - We had Stratos coming back for their second performance at the AMVETS. We were looking forward to it because we had such a great time at their 1st performance.(Their 1st was  in 2011, and this was what we said about it then) . So we were surprised that we didn't dance as much as last time. After talking to Jason/Stratos I found out why. Their directory with their music crapped out on them & couldn't be accessed. (They also use the PC for background tracks as well) It's fixed and will definitely not be a problem going forward. Cool! For the lessons we taught Ghostriders and reviewed Dan Albro's new couples dance  Seven Nights. Who choreographs better than Dan?

3 Weeks Ago the Truck Stop Troubadours were back and rocked the house with the classic Outlaw Rockabilly style they're known for. For the lessons we reviewed Ghost Riders and taught our new Partner dance HeartStrings. 

2 Weeks Ago - Radio Ranch packed the place for a Hot Country Dance Party and as always ROCKED the HOUSE!  What a Party Crowd! Go Go Glo-Ho! They will be Back the 1st Friday in November. For the lessons we taught the Line Dance Good Riddance and reviewed our new Partner dance HeartStrings. 

Last Friday the Hurricanes blew into town playing country and a little Rock & Roll. 1st time I had a chance to meet them, very nice considerate folks. We did a video of our dance HeartStrings which is now up on YouTube and Copperknob. For the lessons we retaught Six Pack Summer by request and Reviewed the Line Dance Good Riddance.

Had a few people ask about Mishnock (Gee I'm Surprised)  ;-) We'll be planning our next trip in the Spring of 2013.

TRUE WEST - On the bad news front one of our favorite bands True West has disbanded... pun intended. The Good news is that John Kelly is working on reconstituting the band under a different name so, I'm sure we'll get to see some of their smiling faces again.

This coming Friday we have a new band playing the AMVETS,  Chickenwire.  As mentioned last week there will be no lessons on the 21st just an all request dance party to get a chance to practice all the dances we've learned. 75 Non-Stop minutes of line & Partner dancing starting at 6:30! Followed up with live country music.

Guess Who?
Last Western Night
at the Castle

Also Don't forget Western Knight at the Castle Oct 27th is fast approaching , get your tickets from Dave this Friday before they'll all gone!!

We'll be teaching a couple of BEGINNERS LINE DANCES so bring your friends!

See ya Friday!


_____________________________________________
2012 FALL Schedule

Friday, October 19 Chicken Wire
Friday, October 26 Just-N-Kase
Saturday, October 27 Country Knight @ the Castle w/Radio Ranch!
Friday, November 2  Radio Ranch
Friday, November 9 Stratos
Friday, November 16 Just-N-Kase
Friday, November 23 The Company
Friday, November 30 Truck Stop Troubadours
Friday, December 7 Radio Ranch
Friday, December 14 Just-N-Kase
Friday, December 21 End of the World Dance Party with Stratos
Friday, December 28 Truck Stop Troubadours

Foot Stompin', Butt Rockin', Beer Drinkin' Music.. On Tap at the Chicopee AMVETS

This week, the the Truck Stop Troubadours will be on stage playing the Classic outlaw country sound mixed with hints of Rockabilly and Americana that you love. 

They learned some new songs that you're gonna like so come out and join us for a night of 4/4 foot stompin' two steppin',house rockin',diesel truckin', beer drinkin' music with a definite uptempo beat.... Lessons Start at 6:30 and the Band at 8PM. 

You'll have a GOOD TIME.

Stratos - Friday Sept 21st at the Chicopee AMVETS

This Friday, back at the AMVETS by popular demand is STRATOS and you will be impressed!

Jason and his folks provide a unique Country Music Dance Experience with their DJ and Band combo package. They artfully and seamlessly combine a DJ's digital music mix with the energy and excitement of a live performance that appeals to band lovers and DJ lovers alike!

Their ability to bounce between DJ & band for continuous performance, will have you up on the floor dancing to all the songs you love.

Friday Night Lessons Friday begin at 6:30 with beginners and new Intermediate line dance for ya and a review of last weeks Partner Dance

So come on out and get your country on with STRATOS! (Listen to s sample clip!)

9/14 at the AMVETS - Back in the Swing of Things

Holy Sardines Batman! 

49 People for lessons! At this rate we're going to have to expand the dance floor! The place was packed. We reviewed Fun Lovin, then taught Baby Dance with Me (OLLY!) for the beginners. We also taught a cute swing style Couples dance that we'll review next week.

It's really great to keep seeing new dancers HOW COOL IS THAT! While we were wrapping up the lessons, the place kept filling up and by the time the band started there wasn't an empty table in the place and few empty chairs to boot. JUST-N-KASE hit the ground running playing uptempo rhythms that kept people on the floor and dancing all night!. I also got a chance on Friday to meet Jerry Lahoulier who's running JERRYOKE Downstairs at the AMVETS wed through Sunday. Nice Guy. If you'd like to be behind a mike instead of in front of the speakers for a change, check him out in person or on the Web at Jerryoke.Com. JUST-N-KASE is scheduled to be back for the end of October to help us celebrate Halloween so don't miss em!

WOWW... YEAH BUDDY!!!

What a GREAT first night back at the Chicopee AMVETS!

Our 1st time back after a long fun summer greeted us with a nice Air Conditioned Hall (which was a godsend since it was 90 outside) and 40+ People for the lessons. It was great to see everyone's face again and to see so many of the beginners that we met over the summer. For the lessons we taught a Beginner line and a Beginners Partner and an intermediate partner dance to Easton Corbin's new Song, "Loving you is Fun".

The crowd kept building and by the time Radio Ranch began  the place was packed. Radio Ranch did what they always do laying down some great country tempos that always get us out on the floor and dancing. The crowd held well all night and we closed the place down with Radio Ranch singing God Bless America, a fitting tribute for the weekend before 911.

 

See ya next week with a review of Fun Lovin', a Brand new Partner dance I know you're gonna like and probably a another beginners line dance to keep the new folks dancing.. See Ya Friday!