Ron S

some hack But he DID play (and recruit heavily from) Philadelphia.

Damn! I knew it! Now Jim will NEVER wanna hit the road again, so NO PHILLY GIG! But wait a second--Alison's gonna come along on the Philly trip, so maybe Zora will be there, and . . . . YEAH, BABY!

But when the size of a mini-LP is awkward, what else you gonna do???

And that's with this note: Maybe it's time to get out the ol' saw!

Wow, what a great concert and experience! I had a similar experience when I saw and met--and got an autograph from--Benny Golson earlier this year. Then again, Benny's just a 76-year-old youngster. It's great to hear that Gerald Wilson is still so active.

You were at the Keswick this weekend? It's just a few miles from my house. You should have let me know and I--and maybe some of the other Philly area Board Members--could have met you there!

hey Ron, you talk about cities... hey different CONTINENTS !!!! Cheers, Tjobbe Don't worry--at this point, I think they'll be embarking on their European tour before they make it to Philly.

Lon, didn't you know? It was aliens:

I'm thinkin' they may finally find those Iraqi WMD (I know--wrong forum ).

Oh, that looks even better. All tube. I might place an order this week! Whatever you do, be sure to first check out the reviews on Harmony Central: Vox AD15T Valvetronix Reviews Epiphone Galaxie 10 Reviews

And there goes Philly . . . .

Anybody got any photos to post? (for those of us poor, unfortunate souls in cities not yet deemed important enough to be visited by the band )

You might also consider a Vox Valvetronix--it comes in 15-, 30-, 50-, and 100-watt models. It has a real tube (or "valve", as the British call it), and also digitally models amps and effects from different eras. Here's the 15-watt model brand-new for $179. And here's a page about this series on the Vox site, with some audio demos.

Believe it or not, they've been spending $120 million to clean up city hall. It really is a magnificent building--the largest municipal building in the U.S. and the largest and tallest masonry building in the world. See? It ain't just Philly with these kinds of problems.

Hi Alison! Jim probably won't let you have an account of your own because he doesn't want you around us crazies! But seriously, though, as you may already know, I've been lobbying Jim and Greg big-time to get them to come play in Philly, and I'm glad to know there's someone working on them behind the scenes. I think the safety and homeless situations in Center City have improved tremendously since you were here. You may remember that they had started the Center City Special Services District (a joint project between businesses and the City) about the time you were here, and that, along with MAJOR residential development in Center City, has done a lot to improve safety. For one thing, there just are a lot more people on the streets in the evenings and on weekends these days, and even more are coming. If you haven't been here since '94, I think you'll find when you get back here that things have improved quite a bit since then. You should check out that National Geographic Traveler article if you haven't already. Although I posted the on-line version in this thread, I'm planning to pick up a hard copy of the issue for the photos. Incidentally, I had a law firm right off Rittenhouse Square at 20th and Locust from '91-'93, so I may have seen you on the street! I look forward to meeting you when the guys finally play here. Lets you and I keep up the pressure to get them here! And tell Jim to let you have your own account on the Board. He can trust us! (Well, at least MOST of us. )

Yeah, Congrats! In what towns are the store you're in now and the one you're going to manage?

For real? Are you moving?

Chris (Albertson, not Testa ), will we be seeing you on the next season of ??? EDIT: Clarified which Chris.

ejp626, I'm sorry you had those 2 unpleasant experiences when you were in Philly, but I'd urge you not to judge an entire city, or whether it's headed up or down, based upon them. As the good Dr. points out immediately above, these kinds of incidents happen in any and every big city--and many not so big--and you just seem to have had some bad luck in Philly. As I mentioned earlier, one of the most aggressive street person I ever encountered was right outside the Drake Hotel in Chicago, and I've had similarly unpleasant encounters in the central business cores of NYC, DC, and Miami when I lived in those cities (including scams, thefts, threats, and an armed mugging), but I certainly didn't conclude from any of those expericences that those cities were "on a downward skid." I've lived in Philly for 16 years now, spending several of those years working in and around the very neighborhood where you had your unpleasant experiences, and I have never had a similar experience. Furthermore, neither has anyone else I know. Additionally, there recently have been many, many articles in the local and national media--the National Geographic Traveler article being only the latest--about how Philly in general, and the Center City area in particular, are experiencing an amazing renaissance unparalleled in any other major city. For example, through numerous renovations and newly constructed buildings, Philly has added thousands of new residential condominium units to the Center City area. And there a lot of new condo renovation and construction projects--including several 40-50 story condo towers and thousands more units--underway or about to begin. In fact, with all this Center City population growth, Philly is now second only to New York City in the size of the residential population of its central business core. Further, the vast majority of these new condos are selling for prices in the range of $500,000-$1 million and up. I doubt very much that all these affluent people and developers, and all the shops, restaurants, and cultural institutions they frequent, would be coming to or staying in Center City Philly and garnering all the press they're getting, if the city truly were "on a downward skid." Additionally, there are many other great neighborhoods in and around Philly to visit, including several restaurant/boutique/gallery districts that are miles from where your "incidents" occurred, which are similarly not "on a downward skid." So I guess what I'm trying to say is that either you know something that hundreds of thousands of the rest of us don't, or else you need to give the city another chance.

Hey Allen, it's the City of Brotherly Love--EVERYTHING is tolerated. 'Cept of course for the Bush support.

JEEEEEEZ! Who knew Greg had that much JUICE??? Oh yeah, except in Philly, of course.

Thinking of moving, Chris?

If you're asking about "Blues in Orbit," I did get it, and also like it a lot. My copy of "Piano in the Foreground" isn't scheduled to ship until later this month.

Here's the video.