Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
First, let me wish for you and yours all the best that the holiday season has to offer for now and all through the next year and years to follow.
More change is in the wind for Yours Truly. Some of you have been on this musical journey with me for a lot of years. You came down to Key West and we partied at the Bull where I played regularly for several years. You might even have made your trip an annual thing. Maybe, for you, it was Sloppy Joe’s where we connected.
I played a lot of solo shows but most notably, for many of you, it was the trio, Acoustic Thunder, that you really liked to party to. You purchased my CDs, tee-shirts and supported all we did.
How many of you remember the various incarnations of Acoustic Thunder? It started with former Poppa Chubby bassist, Francois Gehin with Dale Jacobs on drums. It was the 3 of us that made that live CD, “Lightning Strikes The Bull – Live in Key West”. Then, Dale left and was replaced by former Starbuck (“Moonlight, Feels Right”) drummer, David Snavely. David and Francois left and were replaced by Randy Morrow on drums and Rob Leon, R.I.P. (The Band, Dave Brubeck, Melanie) on bass. Bubba Lownotes replaced Rob and it was Randy, Bubba and me for a long time. They are all terrific musicians and I was very well blessed to play with them. Each put his personal mark on the music we made. Those were some great days and a lot of very special memories were made then. My gratitude for that experience and, for each of you who chose to support us, runs very deep.
JUST FOR FUN: If you have any old pictures from those days, post your favorites on my FaceBook Music Page.
I left Key West after 6 years but continued to go back and play monthly for another 10 years. Margi and I had moved to the Sarasota area where many others of you made your own Fremont John memories at places like O’Leary’s, Harry’s, the Waterside, Fishermen’s Village or, one of several other area music venues along the southern Florida gulf coast.
This year will be the first year in 16 years that I will not be in Florida. There are several reasons why Margi and I have decided to move home to Michigan. We came to the decision only recently. Our son’s family moved back to our hometown of Ludington just last year after 10 years in Atlanta. Our soon-to-be 5, granddaughter, Brielle, is here now and Nana is feeling the strong pull. Yes, and Papa, too. Brielle may be the only one we get and we want to maximize our experience with her. Additionally, I have found some great venues to play like The Mitten Bar in Ludington and Flat Lander’s in Grand Rapids or, Saugatuck Brewing in Douglas to name a few. But, up till recently, we were still totally prepared to head back to Florida this winter.
We had our place in Venice, FL all set for the upcoming season. Then, this fall, the local newspaper did a front page, in-depth story with color photos on Margi and her acupuncture practice. Soon afterward, it became very apparent that leaving for several months would be a very bad thing for Margi’s now rapidly growing acupuncture practice here. Except, for 3 months in a very transient Florida where she would be busy with snowbirds, she struggled to keep her off-season practice in Englewood viable. Here, it is viable and it is year-round. All of this, coupled with the fact that our cost of living in Michigan is a small fraction of what it costs in Florida and the economics made the decision very clear. More business with less expense and the urging of family and it becomes very difficult to justify going back.
We may take future winter trips to escape the worst of the weather here but, we’ve decided it’s time to spend more time home and to visit other locales and experience some of the great music cities like Austin, Memphis, New Orleans and so forth. So, our Florida days may very well be over, at least, for the time being.
For those of you that know me from a Florida experience, I hope that somewhere, along the way, at one time or another, you have been entertained, that I have brought you smiles and have built some great memories with you and that you have enjoyed my music. Please, continue to follow me as new recordings come out (and, they will come) and new opportunities open up.
Michigan folks can hook-up with me in west Michigan in cities along the shore as well as Grand Rapids and elsewhere. As always, check my schedule atwww.fremontjohn.com
BTW: The Florida dates currently showing on my schedule will be canceled. Watch for new Michigan dates to be added soon.
CHRISTMAS IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!
But it’s not too late to order Fremont John CDs online. You can get hard copies or downloads of ACOUSTIC THUNDER (download only), TIMELINE, GUITAR SONGS and CONTRARIAN.
HERE’S WHERE TO ORDER CDs.
Purchase hard copies of Fremont John CDs at either of the following links. Both have special holiday shipping available for you.
CDBABY with $.01 shipping
AMAZON with FREE 2-day shipping
The live CD, “LIGHTING STRIKES THE BULL -Live in Key West” is still available as a download at iTunes
You can even download individual songs. Take your personal favorites from each CD and make your own “Best of Fremont John” play list.
Wishing you the very best of The Holidays,
Fremont John
www.fremontjohn.com
