Showtime

I have a a concert in Pueblo on Saturday night that I’m putting a lot of effort into, and it has me thinking about all that’s involved in putting together a show. I truly love getting the chance to play to a listening audience in a beautiful space. The most interesting part for me is putting together the playlist for the show. What do I want to say? What do I want the mood to be? Who will I have in the audience? These are all things that I think of as I contemplate the show. I usually start with a big list of my favorite songs that I have been doing or have written or learned recently. This is at least twice as long as the time I have allotted for the concert. I consider the tone and the audience here. What is my overall topic or emphasis of the show? Are there any favorite songs that I need to do - “hits” if you will. Am I going to do any requests I may get before the show? (I usually don’t do requests because I’ve found that it usually throws off the flow of the night.) How many fast and slow songs do I need to do to keep the energy up? Do I have good songs to open and close each segment? Is there a storyline that will carry through the show? What keys are the songs in and will they fit together well? How much practicing do I need to have each of the songs polished and ready? Will I bring multiple guitars for different tunings or different textures like a 12-string guitar or electric guitar? I have done enough shows to remember shows that surprised me that my song order and choice went over so well and others that seemed to flag halfway through the show. So I have made a preliminary list for this coming Saturday show, but I’ll be testing it this week at my senior facilities to see how songs come across. Plus I’ll just be trusting the muse, the evening, and the audience since it’s always up to the energy of the night too. Anyway, I thought I would share with you all the things I think about when making up a show. I’m SO looking forward to it!

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What have I been up to?

I had 9 senior facilities last week, and they were all wonderful. Several of the facilities were having me play for their monthly birthday celebration, and since it was my birthday last week it was doubly fun. I love playing for these folks.

My Wednesday online show was one-hit wonders from the 1950s, and it was so much fun. There are some great songs on this list, and I think we did them up proud. I love getting the chance to play these.

My Sunday online show had some great requests and favorites. I’m finally settling into my new opening song called “Here We Go”, and it gave the right energy to the night to make it a good one. I love the folks I get to play for on these shows.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 8 senior facilities this week, and I will start playing Mother’s Day songs this week. This is always a wonderful time of year when we get to sing some old favorites for moms. 

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be songs about rain since it’s that time of year, and we just had a really rainy weekend in southern Colorado. Of course, I’m aware of the storms that wreaked havoc on so many places in the last few days, and my heart goes out to everyone who was affected. I remember well the tornado that ripped through my hometown when I was 19 that damaged my parents’ house and many others including the one I was visiting. It definitely took a long time for the town to rebuild and establish some normalcy again.

On Saturday from 7-9 I’m playing the concert I wrote of above at the Center for Inner Peace in Pueblo. This is a great venue for a concert with good people and sweet acoustics. I’m going to bring out the best songs I know for this show, and I think it should be a very nice evening of music. I’d love to have you in my audience if you’re in the area that night. Here are the details: May 4th at 7:00 in Pueblo at the Center for Inner Peace, 740 West 15th Street, Pueblo, suggested donation of $20 at the door, doors open at 6:30. 

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and every one of these Sundays turns into a fine evening of music and interaction. I love my online audience. Come on out!

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That’s it for this week. I’m so looking forward to this week - especially the concert on Saturday night. I hope your week goes well, and I hope you’re well and happy.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of rain songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, May 1, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing a concert of fine tunes

Where:  Center for Inner Peace, 740 West 15th Street, Pueblo.

When:  Saturday, May 4, 7-9 pm

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, May 5, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Transitions

My online show on Wednesday is one-hit wonders from the 1950s, and that has me thinking about transitional periods in history. I wasn’t born yet in the ‘50s, but I have a feel for how the times were changing - at least musically. I’m not sure what had a greater impact on music of the era. It could have been the prevalence of the electric guitar as it went from a hollow-bodied instrument to a solid-bodied instrument that could be played much louder and with more grit and distortion. It could have been because the song style went from a jazz/pop progression style to more of a blues-based progression and repetitive lines that formed rock and roll. Obviously there was less reliance on big bands with horns and full arrangements and more on small combos that were amplified - especially as the electric bass guitar was invented and PA systems were required to hear the singers. There was lots of experimentation, and many people tried their hand at writing and recording songs to be played on the radio. Some of these songs were real novelties as they could even do “sound-on-sound” like Les Paul and Mary Ford did, and alter voices for special effects like Sheb Wooley with the “Purple People Eater”. So there were a lot of individual songs that gained airplay and became hits. What a fun time to be in music! And it opened the door for what eventually became the transitions to music in the 1960s that were part of much bigger cultural changes.

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What have I been up to?

I had 12 seniors facilities last week, and with my allergies I really had an interesting time singing. I got some meds by mid-week that really helped. I love singing for all these folks!


My Wednesday online show was doing songs for Earth Day, which is today as I write this. There were so many great songs to do, and even though it got a little hippy-dippy, I really love these songs that encourage us to love our Mother Earth.

Saturday I played a birthday party for some friends in Cañon City that was just too much fun. It was raining so we couldn’t be outside, and that made the indoor party that much more fun. Happy Birthday,  Michael!

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and there were a landslide of requests to keep the evening hopping. It was so much fun! What a great group of folks.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 9 senior facilities this week, and they’ll take me all around the area. I say it every week, but you can’t believe how rewarding it is to share music with these folks who really love it.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be one-hit wonders from the 1950s as I wrote above. There are some really great tunes on my list, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with everyone. I’m even learning a few new ones. Come on out and join in!

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and I think this week I’ll surprise the folks with some lesser-heard songs for the ones I pick. Of course, I’m game for any request they throw at me as well. It’s always a good time.

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What’s coming up?

I want to mention my Pueblo concert again on May 4th at the Center for Inner Peace. I’m really looking forward to getting to be in concert in Pueblo for an evening of tunes. I haven’t played a Pueblo concert like this in a long time, and I know it will be a wonderful night to remember. Come on out if you can. Here are the details: May 4th at 7:00 in Pueblo at the Center for Inner Peace, 740 West 15th Street, Pueblo, suggested donation of $20 at the door, doors open at 6:30. 

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That’s it for this week. I hope your Spring is going well, and that you’re well and happy.

All the best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of one-hit wonders from the 1950s

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, April 24, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, April 28, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Earth

I’m doing songs about the earth on Wednesday to celebrate Earth Day, which is coming up on the 22nd of April. I think about our earth a lot. This comes from spending so much time out walking and enjoying the outdoors all my life. I’m always happiest when I have the breeze in my face with the smells of the earth and the trees. I was once accused of being a “tree hugger” by the other students when I took an oil spill course to receive a certification to teach oil spill recovery. That was in another life, but I guess I do care for the earth although I wouldn’t say I’m an activist. I think most folks would agree that we could manage the earth a lot better than we have the last few hundred years. For instance, Thomas Jefferson thought that it would take us several hundred years just to fill up North America, and that happened within a century. And we have thought that our resources are limitless, but we’re starting to realize this isn’t true. I think we can make the adjustments to make this earth livable and beautiful into many more generations. The main thing, as it is with everything, is just awareness and the willingness to be flexible. There are always growing pains with change. So I celebrate the earth. We are on that “pale blue dot” that Carl Sagan wrote of so long ago after the Voyager captured that picture of our earth in a ray of sunlight.

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What have I been up to?

I had 9 senior facilities last week, and I enjoyed them all. I was suffering with some sort of congestion, so I wore a mask to many of my facilities. I had tested negative for Covid, so I wasn’t worried about spreading anything. It’s probably just allergies. I love playing for these folks so much!

My Wednesday online show was playing songs from the 1930s. This was a really sweet show with lots of great songs and good comments. My research wasn’t great though as I ventured outside of the 1930s for a few songs inadvertently. I really do like to be accurate.  Oh, well! It was still a very nice time!

My Sunday online show was playing favorites and requests, and there were some really good ones. I’m always impressed with the depth of music my audience requests. It’s a joy to play for them.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 12 senior facilities this week, and I’m looking forward to all of them. I may have to cancel one tomorrow morning for a doctor appointment so I can get over this congestion completely. It’s still hanging on a bit.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be songs for Earth Day as I wrote above. There are a lot of great songs that fit the bill, and I’m looking forward to playing them. I know my audience will be into it, and I’d love to see you!

Saturday I have a private party that should be great fun too. It’s for some folks that I have played for several times before. They love the good music that I love, and so it should be a swell evening.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and I always say how these evenings turn out to be very special. Well, they do, and I’m not afraid to say it. Come on out and join in.

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What’s coming up?

I keep writing about my concert in Pueblo on May 4th, and it’s because I know it will be a very nice evening in a great-sounding room. Come on out if you’re anywhere near Pueblo and enjoy a night of song and camaraderie. So many people say that they love my online shows, but they also say that they like an in-person show even more with the great sound and shared space. Here are the details: May 4th at 7:00 in Pueblo at the Center for Inner Peace, 740 West 15th Street, Pueblo, suggested donation of $20 at the door, doors open at 6:30. I hope to see you there!

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That’s it for this week. Here’s to a great week and celebration of our dear old earth.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of earth songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, April 17, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, April 21, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

1930s

I’m doing songs from the 1930s for my Wednesday show, and that has me thinking about what I know about the 1930s. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the Great Depression. People of my generation grew up with stories and reminders of what our parents had gone through in the Depression. We were taught frugality sometimes to a fault. That decade was also the development of much of the entertainment industry with great movies, plays, musicals, and music. The music was mostly jazz, popular, and hillbilly or western music. My dad grew up learning tunes in the 1930s as a teenager off the Hit Parade radio show and later playing those on the piano in the evenings in our house in addition to other songs he loved. These songs were mainly the jazz-influenced popular music of the day, and so that is what I mainly know although I’ve also learned much of the western and hillbilly (folk) music of that decade as well. Some of these songs were kind of innocent in their content and lyrics, but the melodies have stood the test of time, and even the words, though sometimes quaint, have an honesty that I really love. Those times and values led us into World War II, and so there is a sweetness and nostalgia for what strengths and weaknesses shaped the minds of the folks that progressed into the war years. It was an interesting time that is fascinating to relive through the music of that era. Most of the music is just plain good!

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What have I been up to?

I had 7 senior facilities last week, and they were all so enjoyable. It’s funny that I’m writing about songs from the 1930s because my seniors are mostly too young to want to hear these now. When I started playing these facilities back in high school they wanted to hear songs all the way back to the 1890s.

My Wednesday online show was songs about the sun and moon for the eclipse. That was a lot of fun! I wish there were more songs about eclipses. I had a very nice audience of great folks.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and there were some good ones including a new opening song I’ve been working on for a couple months. Of course, I’ve already rewritten it since last night, and I still don’t have a title for it. There were so many nice folks in my audience.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 9 senior facilities this week, and they should all be very rewarding. Seeing the smiles on faces and getting the chance to share some memories makes it all worthwhile.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be songs from the 1930s as I wrote above. I have almost a hundred songs from this decade on my list, and I’m sure I could add a bunch more. It will be a stellar evening of tunes. Come on out if you can.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and these shows have morphed into an even more freestyle evening of requests and surprises. I’d love to have you in the audience if you can make it.

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What is coming up?

I have a very cool concert coming up on May 4th at 7:00 in Pueblo at the Center for Inner Peace. This building has great acoustics, and the openness and generosity of spirit is wonderful. I’m planning to do a mix of original and album tunes so there should be a wide variety of laughter and tears. There is a suggested donation of $20 at the door. Doors open at 6:30. I’d love to see you there if you’re in the Pueblo area or want to make the trip. It’s located at 740 West 15th Street in Pueblo.

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That’s it for this week. I hope you get a chance to view the eclipse (with proper eye protection) today, and I hope to see you soon!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of 1930s songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, April 10, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, April 14, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Eclipse

There is a solar eclipse next Monday throughout much of the U.S., and Jen and I had hoped to go to see it in totality, but we can’t make the trip this time. We’ll settle for seeing the partial eclipse here if the sky is clear. A solar eclipse is such an amazing event. It reminds us of just how small we are and how much we depend on this big burning ball in the sky that powers our earth and most all life here. I think the ancient people who lived in the outdoors every day understood that more than we do nowadays, but it can still affect us in profound ways. I have a natural affinity for the stars and the outdoors, and when I look up at the night sky I feel that I am a part of them in many ways. We are stardust as Joni Mitchell said in her song, “Woodstock”, and star-stuff as Carl Sagan wrote. Seeing star events and solar events rings that bell in us that we all seem to understand somehow. I imagine some of you are going to be able to be in the path of totality, and I salute you and encourage you to see it in all the ways you can. Many folks will make those little boxes that you can see the eclipse in, and hopefully all will get the cheap eclipse glasses that you can gaze directly at the eclipse with. There is a list of fun things to see and even an app that tells you when to look for interesting phenomena during the eclipse called “Solar Eclipse Timer”. There is a great video to watch with lots of these detail here -  https://youtu.be/791qJZivHpk?si=H8jxu6VWIGfHml0k. I would love to hear your eclipse stories if you have any to share!

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What have I been up to?

I had 9 senior facilities last week (I forgot to include one in my blog last week that I had on Easter), and I enjoyed every one so much. I mostly sang Spring songs although. A couple still wanted to hear some Irish tunes. Of course I did a few Easter songs as well.

My Wednesday online show was doing songs I’ve never done for my online shows, and there were some very sweet tunes that I think the group really liked. They said as much too!

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and I included a couple songs there that I’ve never done online as well. It was a very sweet evening.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 7 senior facilities this week, and it’s time for more Spring and also April rain songs. There are so many good ones, and it is so much fun sharing them with my seniors.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be songs about the sun and moon to celebrate the solar eclipse that happens next Monday. This is such a neat event, and even though it’ll just be a partial in Colorado I’m still looking forward to going outside and seeing it through eclipse glasses. Come on out on Wednesday and hear some great sun and moon songs.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. These are very special evenings with good friends listening and supporting each other. You’re always welcome to join in.

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What is coming up?

I have a very cool concert coming up on May 4th at 7:00 in Pueblo at the Center for Inner Peace. I just haven’t done that many real concerts since the pandemic, and I haven’t done one in Pueblo for many years. I haven’t made my setlist up yet, but I’m thinking it will be a really heartfelt evening of music and stories. The Center for Inner Peace is one of those buildings that just brings it out of you. I saw my friend Don Richmond play there about 3 weeks ago, and the vibe was amazing. There is suggested donation of $20 at the door. Doors open at 6:30. I’d love to see you there if you’re in the Pueblo area or want to make the trip. It’s located at 740 West 15th Street in Pueblo.

There’s more coming up in the summer, but I’ll write about those dates as they come up. I have made Facebook events for most of those, and you can always see them on my website calendar at http://tommunch.com/calendar. 

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That’s it for this week. I hope your life is going well, and that you are healthy and happy. No April Fools!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of sun and moon songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, April 3, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, April 7, 7-8:45 pm mountain time