July 14, 2008: Our First Anniversary Extravaganza!
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Our anniversary show was as much a party as it was a performance! Doors opened to the sounds of our guys in Cafe Americain (joined by special guests Mal Sharpe and Laurence Hyman), at the top of their form. By 7:30 the room was full of revelers, and spoken-word artist/author/TSL regular Frank Lauria held forth with a surprise performance before the show.From there, the program flowed (along with the special Bastille Day cocktails!) We started by introducing a new favorite, singer/songwriter Larry Gallagher, who delighted the audience with his personal, witty musical commentaries throughout the evening. Then host Kurt Bodden ushered in our parade of wonderful encore guests: wacky poetry from Cameron Galloway, wry commentary from Ethan Watters, new adventures from Andrea Carla Michaels, and a storytelling duet with Tim Ereneta. We also got to catch up with Mal Sharpe and musical director Ned Boynton. And all night (long past the end of the show), the house band filled the room with high energy jazz.
From left: Mal Sharpe, Frank Lauria and Larry Hyman warm up the crowd before the show. Photo by Rachael Ortiz.
Our featured guests, old and new:
TIM ERENETA
First TSL appearance October 8, 2007
Storyteller Tim Ereneta tells stories: old stories ... the kind in which parents abandon their children in the forest to let witches eat them, where wildly improbable talents and magical objects win the day and justice is often served with the blade of an axe. He was the recipient of the National Storytelling Network's J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Grant for 2006. He is a co-founder (along with our host Kurt Bodden) of Storytellers Unplugged, an ensemble of performers who use improvisation to reveal the power of story in our everyday lives. Tim brings over 18 years of theatre experience to his storytelling. For ten years, he was in the mainstage company of BATS Improv, the perennially "Best of San Francisco" improvisation troupe. A former bus driver, science teacher, and camp counselor, he has performed in schools from San Jose to Sacramento.CAMERON GALLOWAY
First TSL Appearance August 13, 2007
Actress and comedienne Cameron Galloway has performed her original one-woman plays at (among other venues) DIVAFest, the SF Fringe Festival, and the Exit Theater. You can frequently catch her unique monologues and performance pieces during Mark Romyn's "Thursday Night Combo" at the Exit Theatre.LARRY GALLAGHER
An expressive singer, clever songwriter, and nimble guitarist, Larry Gallagher is also a former journalist for Details, Esquire, and the New York Times Magazine, as well as a fallen monk, classically trained flutist, carpenter, and expert at reed-organ restoration, Larry's eclectic life is reflected in his wide-ranging music. Flitting between styles from jazz to ragas to torch ballads, Larry presents the universe according to himself with tunes that offer a disarming combination of wackiness and deep sensitivity.
ANDREA CARLA MICHAELS
First TSL appearance July 16,2007
Ever wondered how they create crossword puzzles? Andrea Carla Michaels does it, for the New York Times, TV Guide, and a lot of other publications. She's a nationally-ranked Scrabble player and aficionado of puzzles in general. She's also a namer - she comes up with the names of companies and products.MAL SHARPE
First TSL Appearance November 12, 2007
Legendary radio personality, musician and humorist, Mal Sharpe was a member of the revolutionary broadcasting duo of Coyle & Sharpe. They were the early masters of street pranks and puts-ons. Using hidden microphones, they clandestinely recorded their bizarre encounters with unsuspecting citizens on the streets of San Francisco in the 1960s.Perhaps 40 years ahead of their time, Coyle and Sharpe defined what is now commonplace on radio and TV with shows. In 1964, they were hired by KGO in San Francisco to do a nightly radio show called “Coyle & Sharpe On The Loose.”
Mal Sharpe continues to do commercials and voiceovers. A master trombonist, he leads his Dixieland jazz band, The Big Money In Jazz Band, with their new CD, Tin Roof Blues. For over 15 years, he has hosted a Sunday nightshow “Back On Basin Street” on KCSM/Jazz 91 in the Bay Area. He and his wife, Sandra, live in Berkeley, published a coffee table book, and have appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
