June 24, 2024 - MUSIC ENVELOPES ROCHESTER
Long time Rochester musician, writer, photographer, philosopher, muse and raconteur, Frank DeBlase…of the original Fabulous Flattops…. trying out a one string, gourd banjo. I love this man.
Our new T-shirts are in and I’m really astounded at the quality. There are our old, retro logo and during jazz festival they are only 10 bucks!…. 15 bucks if you want one mailed to you.
Here I am posing with my new sharp shirt given to me by my daughter Rose for Father’s Day. I thought I looked so dapper that I decided to put all Eastman instruments on sale in the store only, during Jazz Fest. Stop in and find a great Eastman at a very special price.
On Saturday I got together for lunch with my old buddy Ryan Yarmel. You may recall that Ryan was our manager for many years. He actually worked with me for half his life. We shared a nice lunch at Rocky’s Italian Restaurant on Jay St. We brought back some sandwiches for the rest of the gang. It was really nice to catch up with him and hear a little bit about his radio career.
Save the date! July 31 at 1:05 at Innovation Field. Bernunzio Uptown Music, will be teaming up with the Rochester Red Wings to celebrate the two most iconic American institutions: banjos and baseball!
It’s strawberry time and, with the excess heat, we had to act very quickly to get a good batch of Julie’s jam
Gavin Rice and his companion Anna came down for a visit in Penn Yan on Sunday. We had a lovely stroll on the outlet trail.
Bass season opened and I was back to my favorite spot at the end of the dock at our place in Branchport, New York. I got three beautiful bass and sent them all back for another day.
The Rochester Jazz festival has always been a time of miracles….I think music is made of miracles and I believe in miracles.
MUSIC ENVELOPES ROCHESTER
June 24th, 2024
Good mornings folks,
The Rochester International Jazz Festival is in full swing. It began with an acclaimed performance by Taj Mahal on Friday evening at the Eastman Theatre and extends through this Saturday. There is music of every genre and tickets at every price point and many, many free shows. Check the website for a full listing. There are food vendors and buskers everywhere and happiness has filled the streets again. We have extended hours at the store and will be open untill 7 o’clock every evening during the week. The view from our store is nothing short of amazing. When the streets are closed off and people are walking to and from the various venues, all we see are smiles. This is the power of music, the transforming power. It changes the landscape. It changes the way we look at each other. It changes the way we think. Of course, running into old friends, who we sometimes see only once a year, is the added bonus. So many people came through the door!
At some point of Friday afternoon, I decided to take a little break from the festival and the steady flow of customers. I got on my trustee mobility scooter and wheeled down to Parcel 5. This is the acre on Main St., the spot near the Midtown Tower, where there was quite a controversy years ago. Factions were fighting over whether they should build a casino or a performing center or leave it as a green space. We fought tooth and nail for no development and won the battle. The space is now often used for performances and will be the destination for some of the free concerts during the Jazz Festival and the fall’s Fringe Festival. But the day I went there, they were only a handful of skateboarders. I pulled my scooter up next to the bench and watched them taking turns, spinning on and doing impossible stunts. One of them asked me if I wanted a beer and I took him up on it. These young folks were so genuine and so gentle in their manner and, at the same time, so vibrant and passionate about their sport. I told him that their performance and their skateboarding was every bit is genuine as a musical concert. We just had kind of bonding experience, but down deep and really wanted to see if my mobility scooter could go up that little ramp!
With peace,
John Bernunzio
On Friday night, we had our first concert in a long, long time. Sam Snyder set up the stage and with the multi talented Kurt Johnson and Will from the Milwaukee band, "Old Pup" they performed original songs. It was truly a heartfelt experience.
Impromptu skate board at Parcel Five…
Eastman’s on SALE!11
The wall of our packing room reflects the minds of our employees
Join Julie and I on the Flower City ukulele Cruise aboard the Colonial Belle . July 8th. The event details are on our website or the following link:
https://bernunzio.com/events/flower-city-ukulele-cruise-eri/