How windy was it on Sunfest Saturday?
Pretty windy. Coming up Fourth Street about 11:30 AM, it looked like psychedelic extraterrestrial octopuses [octopodes for the pedants] were invading Ocean City.

You can see the fleeing people in the picture. Click to see bigger.

Another view:


As if that wasn't enough, the wind blew down the sign from Shenanigans's deck.

That sign was 21 years old. Just waiting to turn 21 and fall down. We know people like that.

Sunday morning:

Something missing?

Over on the Talk Board, Bert Ross has a picture of the sign after Greg and Jason and all had hauled it out of the path of the Malone fans clamoring to enter (message 192).

At the beach for Sunfest
The Carlins came back! They are well on their way to becoming regulars. (See August entry from last year.) Kathleen and Chris from up Binghamton way showed us, reminded us I should say, since they showed us for the first time last year, how to do "The Irish Rover" with thirteen claps between the verses. If you do it that way, you can call it "The 13 Claps Song." Gil Collins, the original Malone and Hutch bass player, showed up, with the lovely Sue, and there they are in the picture. We briefly sighted all three Twisted Sisters, in the room at the same time. Dave, who was with them, did a nice job singing "Brown Eyed Girl." Dr. Kazoo joined us on bass Saturday night, and sang "Margaritaville." Dr. Bill and his friend Jim from NYC turned up. Jim sang "New York, New York," and the Doctor rocked the house. For the first time ever, we had John and Kim from Lancaster (and next door) and Alan and Kim from Baltimore in the room at the same time. A lot of kamikaze shots over at that Golden Beach table. Malone sang "The Galway Shawl," and Mr. Bennett introduced "I'll Be There In the Mornin' If I Live," aka "Rich Gal, Poor Gal" or "My Girl" to the Shenanigans stage.

A few Fourth of July pictures are up on that page.

We sang the first song of Labor Day weekend not on the stage, but on the radio! And so we now have a picture of Wayne Cannon facing the camera.

Some other highlights of the weekend included the lovely Katherine of New Jersey, who looked to be about eight years old, singing a fine old song about how Pat and Kate McGee celebrated their 50th anniversary, "The Golden Jubilee." She did a grand job of it, and we hope to see her and her family again. The Old Marshal showed up, for the first time in a while. Doctor Bill brought back an old favorite, "Love Potion Number 9." Lorraine had a birthday, and honored us with a solo on "Irish Eyes." People seem to like Malone's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Our favorite taxidermist, Allie from Baltimore, came back for a visit. So did Pat MacNamara.

Live from the beach!
Dateline Ocean City, July 31 — We set a record on Tuesday for greatest range of birthdays celebrated. Morgan, from Pittsburgh, was 21. Ruth Muldoon, from Hollidaysburg, also in P A, was 91 (that's ninety-one, folks, not a typo). That's a seventy-year difference there. Young folks, old folks, they all love this music. And the booze, of course. Ruth had a fair number of friends, admirers, and family with her. Ruth had a fine time, and drank whiskey sours. Malone is thinking of switching to those. Today, Friday, the show has not started yet and already we have survived a tornado alert! And about a ton of rain, all falling in a very short space of time. Aside from that, the weather has been beautiful all week. Wish you were here!

Back at the beach for the Fourth. Many familiar faces in the place. Powers led a good-sized delegation from Pottsville. The Burt Brothers came in from California, Bill & Sheila, the McGraths. Fran and Ed! Lorraine and Bob, Ruth Burtt and friends from W. Va. Dr. Bill and Pat McNamara dispensed their musical prescriptions for gladness. The Kazoo Family Players are here, two of them much taller. The weather has been beautiful, ideal for flying airplanes and dancing. Wish you were here!

My dad was born on the Glendine Rd outside of Miltown Malbay, County Clare, Eire. I love this poem written by Seamus Heaney:


  And some time make the time to drive out west
  Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,
  In September or October, when the wind
  And the light are working off each other
  So that the ocean on one side is wild
  With foam and glitter, and inland among stones
  The surface of a slate-grey lake is lit
  By the earthed lightning of a flock of swans.
  Their feathers roughed and ruffling, white on white,
  Their fully grown headstrong-looking heads
  Tucked or cresting or busy underwater.
  Useless to think you'll park and capture it
  More thoroughly. You are neither here nor there,
  A hurry through which known and strange things pass
  As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways
  And catch the heart off guard and blow it open.


                                                                   Malone

'Tis once again the season of St. Patrick, and Malone and the lads have seen their shadows. (I don't know what that means.) So we have a few more grey hairs, a few new songs (just kidding, no need to be alarmed) and a few new pictures up on a new picture page.

The Wonderful World of Science!
We knew it all the time, but here it is from a real Australian scientist: Australian researchers have made the surprise discovery that alcohol improves, rather than damages, men's performance in the bedroom. Playing the banjo in the bedroom after several drinks always gets a woman's attention. What kind of performance were you thinking of?

Happy New Year, what cheer, my dear!

He couldn't stay on the front page all year,
he'll be happy right here.

Some March dates are now up on the Schedule page. Hope to see you there!

Summer dates for 2009 are up! Over on the Schedule page, naturally. The first week in July runs from Wednesday through Sunday this time.

Back at the beach for Labor Day. The weather is beautiful. Wish you were here! We saw Ruth Burtt on Friday, which reminded Mr. Bennett that we have pictures of the time we went to West Virginia for her birthday. For those who would say "Oh, come on, you guys never go anywhere," we have photographic proof over on page 7.

Mr Bennett says: After hearing about this place for so many years, I am glad to have had the chance to visit. I liked it, but had to come back to OC for Labor Day,
just couldn't stay away,
there's lots of music still to play,
between the ocean and the bay …

Ban-Joe's new record is available now from CD Baby! You go, Ban-Joe! Click the cover to go to the catalog page. Songs include All Or Nothing At All, It Could Happen To You, Misty, Dream A Little Dream Of Me, A Fool Such As I, Only You, Twilight Time, Melancholy Serenade, Out Of Nowhere, Beyond The Sea, Roses Of Picardy, and The Gypsy. Yes, there is a tuba!

Fans of Henny the DJ and the Tambourine Lady will want to know that they have a pretty nifty MySpace page. Not really safe for work. Currently playing "Last Night I Got Loaded" by Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band. Pictures that move, they have, over there. New Jerseyans in the Amboy zone, go see them and tell them Malone sent you.

Big John was looking through old photos the other day, and came across this shot of the room the band stayed in back in the McGee's days, when there were balconies on the front of the Shoreham Hotel, and musicians were treated like bards, worthy of respect second only to kings, and the finest place at the table, and the finest lodgings…

**Ahem!**

Click it for bigger. Looks like a Hopper, don't you think? Maybe this one? Or is there another painter of whom this is more evocative?

A few new pictures are up on the Fourths of July page and the current picture page. More to come.

Bud, the Old Marshal of Frontiertown, made it in on Saturday, as part of the promotional tour for his new book, Big Easy Blues. He's looking good, and writing fast. (Some of his young women friends would turn that around.)

Click that pic to see it bigger and better.

The last couple of days of that week got pretty wild. Ah, you should have been there! Kevin McDermott showed up to sing Johnny MacEldoo. MacNamara led the band. Dr. Bill rocked the joint something fierce. He's got these blue suede shoes, now—don't step on them, whatever you do! Dr. Kazoo and the Kazoo Family Players joined the band on both Friday and Saturday nights. For those who didn't have a pencil handy when Malone announced it from the stage, Zack's Orioles-centric blog is Full of Birds. McGraths and Kanes were with us most of the week, and we were happy about that. We need Bill Kane for security, and Jim McGrath for a fugleman, to show the kids what the Unicorn is all about. Bob and Lorraine came in a few nights, and brought Kevin and Natalie with them. Nancy Whiskey and the lovely daughters and Will came in a few times, to remind me that if I don't do enough writing here, there is somebody who can do it better. Pictures coming!

Back at the beach!
It's the first day of August, and the sun is out at last. Humidity seems down a bit as well. The last few days have been steadily overcast with outbreaks of rain at random moments. The sunshine is welcome. Also welcome: The Carlins, who last stopped in here 22 years ago, and finally returned to catch another show. I think they might become regulars. The new, smaller Bill Thompson; Bill's lost a lot of weight, but has not lost his voice, so he did a reprise of "As Good as I Once Was," and a fine version of "Unchained Melody."

Joe Rodio, aka Ban-Joe, brought his Dad and the rest of the family, and played on our stage three nights in a row. Lucky us! Joe has a new CD out, called Mojo: Joe Rodio Plays Banjo for Romantic Occasions. I always reach for the banjo when feeling romantic. It is available for MP3 download here, and when we find out more about where you can buy it, we'll let you know.

Which reminds me, Jim Hartley has a new book out, called Baseball At RFK Stadium. Oh, look, here's another one: Baseball Is Back: The Washington Nationals 2005 Inaugural Season.

Mike and Jan celebrated another anniversary last night. After which, Dr. Bill sang about a Redneck Mother.

We have had a Teke sighting this week: Big Guy stopped in for a visit. We have learned that Mr. Peabody is studying classical ukulele.

Thanks to Nancy Whiskey for the 4th of July Craic Report! It's on the Talk Board, message 146.

Have you ever wondered: What Does Your Drink Say About You? If I ever hear my drink talking about me, I'm going to obliterate it so fast… The link in this article to "Ten Drinks Men Should Never Order" doesn't work, go here instead. The link to "Ten Things Your Bartender Won't Tell You" is still good. And a commenter there links to Top Ten Myths About Bartenders, which includes

"Myth 3: You can out-drink the bartender.
"A more wrong statement has never been uttered; you can't, so don't even try. But, if you're buying, I'll certainly entertain the challenge. I don't care how much you think you can drink—any bartender anytime, anywhere can put you under the table, period."

Words to remember.

But then, some bartenders may take a different approach:

Strict Wildness

Music so poignant it wakes the dead,
We passion poets eke it from wine, not bread;
From wonder, not logic; heart, not head,—
But need clear heads to mix your heady brew.
We kitsch it if we swig it too.
Inspired insanity won't do.
Nor thin-lipped sane respectability.
Rigor lone is rigor mortis.
Rigor-plus-wild is the right-bank tortoise
That beats the chic hare of Rive Gaucherie.
Are poems magic? Sure. Till magic
Believes itself. Then it's bunk.
Art, being bartender, is never drunk.

           — Peter Viereck

Zack Kazoo got his picture on the front page of the Washington Times! He was present at Nationals Stadium for the mass.

It seems we have been mentioned by tokezohime at OceanCity.com's music blog. Thanks, tokezohime!

Fire at Dough Roller at S. Division St!
Not the one at 3rd St. The Baltimore Sun has the story, and the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department have a lot of pictures.

Bud, the Old Marshal, seen in New Year's deshabille below, has written another book! It's a novel this time, based on his World War II experiences in Japan. To read more about it and order a copy, click this link: We Were Kings.

The Serious Eats website has a couple of seasonally appropriate entries, on the history of pint glasses: For St. Patrick's Day, A Proper Pint; and on a recipe for a Guinness float: Irish Ice Cream Soda. And here's lovely looking sandwich made with Jameson's whiskey! We'll have three.

The Season of St. Patrick is here again. Malone is back from Florida. Someone in Pennsylvania saw a robin last week. And a couple of changes have been made to Malone and the lads' perfomance schedule, so check it out.

Some of you "Waltzing with Bears" fans might enjoy this YouTube clip of Mister Bennett with his other band, from last summer on Block Island. That's Uncle Walter on the far right, with the fiddle and the grin.

Just about time to start thinking about Valentine's Day! So it's really time for New Year Bud to come off the front page and take up residence here. You can see him in his greater glory at Talk Board message # 131, if you go there and click his little pic. Go on, he likes it!

March dates are still in flux, so keep checking that page if you think you might be able to make it to one of them.

2007

The Summer '08 Shenanigans dates are up on the the Schedule page. Mark those calendars!

Update November 18: If you are an early calendar marker who has already marked a calendar, time to go check and mark again, since August dates have changed to July ones, in the twinkling of an eye. Remarkable, how that happens.

Another Summer, another Sunfest.
And it was Malone's turn to be interviewed by Jared Morris on a sunny Saturday morning on the deck.

It was good luck that Dr. Bill was walking by and took these pictures. Thanks, Dr. Bill!

Here's a little trio action, with Betsy on the fiddle. In performance Friday and Saturday nights, Betsy joined Malone and the lads on Tommy Makem's "The Rambles of Spring."

This might be the Kesh Jig. A beautiful day for radio; I'd do that again. Gosh, all these pictures, you'd think we could have gotten one of Wayne Cannon when he wasn't walking away from the camera, but that's what he's doing down below there, and that's it.

Back at the beach for Labor Day.
Weather is beautiful. A good day for … radio on the deck!

The talk of Delmarva.
Here's Jared Morris of WGMD, 92.7 FM, interviewing a gentleman whose name I didn't catch, about the upcoming coin show at the Convention Center. Malone and Mr. Bennett did something similar with Ron Letterman a couple of years ago. Our show had music!

Something else to do with beer, from the Washington Post:

And for Dessert, Suds on a Stick
If the Good Humor man had moonlighted as a bartender, he might have invented the Hopsicle.
But he didn't, and so credit goes to Frank Morales, executive chef at Rustico Restaurant and Bar in Alexandria. Rustico stocks about 280 brands of beer, and since taking over the kitchen in February, Morales has been happily incorporating them into his cuisine.
A mental lapse -- he left a bottle of beer in the freezer for three hours and it froze rock-hard -- led him to experiment with beer on a stick.

More at the link.

Green in more ways than one
A recent study found that the average Irishman walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found that Irishmen drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer or stout per annum. That means, on average, that an Irishman gets about 41 miles per gallon. Kind of makes you proud to be an Irishman…

Zack Kazoo, of the Kazoo Family Players, has a weblog! And he updates it oftener than some. It's called Full of Birds, and it's all about those Orioles.

We're really short on 4th of July pictures, so if you have any good ones, send 'em.

At the beach!

Ocean City, July 7, 2007. 7/7/07, looks like a lucky number. 70 years from now, we'll get one even more intense, but that's for pretty loose values of "we." So what's happening in the land of the sand and the crab? Mr. Bennett has discovered that his camera is not so good for taking pictures of fireworks. Brightly-colored streaks is all I get. Abstract art of the aleatory variey, maybe; not fireworks. The boardwalk fireworks show was postponed from the Fourth to the fifth because of high winds. Reports from around the country indicate that OC's weather was mild compared to what some had. But what about the band and all? We brought back an old song, "Panama Red," for no better reason than that we could. We still have not learned "The Scotsman." Fran showed up with beach towels printed to look like kilts, but even that attempt at magic didn't bring the song into our repertoire, or repertory as we say in English.

Dr. Kazoo joined us on bass, harmonica and kazoo for Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and had Zack and Olivia with him for the latter. That TV show of his is getting to be quite the big deal. If you have not looked at "The Math Dude" since its first mention here, go take another look. We saw lots of familiar faces out front: the McGraths and Kellihers, the Kanes, Lorraine and Bob, Bob Conner, Pat MacNamara, among others. The Burt Brothers showed up with a company of wives and kids. The kids looked like angels who had let their halos down, with those big glowing rings around their necks. The Powers clan from Pottsville was in for Tuesday night. Megan has grown so I barely recognized her! Captain John and Flight Engineer Mark, the pilots from Walnut Bottom, flew in for Friday. Erin Keating, the President of the Tony Nuzzo Fan Club, stoppped by. The Doo-Wop Cop hit the high notes on "Unchained Melody." Dr. Bill intoduced a new song, new for him anyway, "I Can't Help Falling In Love with You." All this and one more night to go!

Book plug, for Flag Day
So how many knew that Bud, the Old Marshal of Frontiertown, has books that you can buy? Hands? Grimmy? Anyone? He is so modest about these, that some who might be happy to know about them do not.

Quit being so shy, Bud: let the people know that your books are available right here! Bud has done much more in his life than getting shot at Frontiertown, and half-shot at Shenanigans. And making a lot of Photoshop jokes. If you are at all interested in WW II history, or the experience of surviving cancer, take a look at Bud's books. You'll see why we feel so honored when he puts on the "Baby Happy New Year" outfit for our little website.

Memorial Day.
Holiday observance over on the Talk Board, as usual. But now it's time to start thinking about heading for the beach, and no sooner than, comes this bit of news from Ocean City: Trimper's Rides, down by the inlet, may be closing soon as a result of tax increases. Or as the Washington Post has it, An Ocean City Icon Faces Turn in Economic Tide. This is the park with the roller coaster, not the one with the iconic giant Ferris wheel. But where the roller coaster goes, who knows what may follow?

Here are a few more stories. From the Dispatch: OC Landmark Could Be Scaled Down In Near Future; Trimper's Woes Raise Assessment Questions;OC To Send Letter To State Over Trimper's Fate. From the Daily Times: Rising taxes could force Trimper sale; Boardwalk without Trimper's?; and one more from the Post that mentions some new things to look for this year, A Fashionable Return to the Days of Old. That last headline doesn't sound right. "Return to days of old" would mean fifty-cent beer, $5 a dozen crabs, and not enough air conditioning but you could smoke anywhere. I'll go! Oh yeah, no Internet in days of old. No wonder I don't know how to get there.

A discussion is going on here.

Now that it's starting to warm up a little, in the middle of May, let's take a moment to reflect on the way that drinking is done in the South … way down South … in Antarctica. The interviewer for this article from Modern Drunkard Magazine asks one of the eternal questions, and the answer rings true enough:

MDM: Do you possess the secret of an especially effective hangover cure?
FSR: Though it takes time to work, I have always found suffering to be a sure remedy.

Happy Day After St. Patrick's Day

First robin sighting. This bird may be too early for that worm, the one they talk about.

Happy St Patrick's Day 2007!
"If you plant your peas by St. Patrick's Day, they will be ready by Fourth of July." Peas in Connecticut might be a little late this year. Here's a shot taken a few minutes ago just a few miles from Gerry's house.
For comparison purposes, another shot captured from the Boardwalk webcam just a few minutes later.
Am I the only one, or does anyone else see an optical illusion in this picture, that makes it look like the boardwalk, which we know is flat, actually has a shape like a crowned roadway, like this: /\ ?

Doctor Kazoo is — The Math Dude
Our own Dr. Kazoo has a TV show! Two, actually. Let him tell it in his own words:

When I retired from being a regular classroom teacher, I continued to be the co-host of the Thursday edition of Homework Hotline Live! on Montgomery County Public School's Instructional TV (Montgomery Comcast Channel 33 4:30-6, 8-9:30). But with my "relaxed" work schedule, I've had the opportunity to work on another project for Instructional TV called The Math Dude. This is a series of 5 minute segments which focus on individual objectives of Algebra 1 in a unique style. The Math Dude will be broadcast on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights on Comcast 33 at 6pm, following Hotline. The shows will parallel the MCPS Algebra curriculum, but there is certainly value for pre-Algebra students or those who want to brush up on their Algebra skills, and hopefully they'll be entertaining for all. Those of you who are former students of mine may recognize some of the old classroom stories, but now brought to life in this high tech production. If you don't live in Montgomery County or don't get cable, you can view the episodes any time on the web at www.mcpsmathdude.org.

It's pretty good fun if you like exponents and matrices, or have forgotten what the mean means. Median and mode coming soon? And the observant Kazoo Family Players fan might catch a glimpse of Olivia or Zack. Hurray, hurray for Doctor K!

UPDATE: The Washington Post has a story now, March 1, with a picture.

How do you find us?
Last year, about this time, near the end of January that would be, the most interesting search string was "chasing dandelion fluff as it floats on the wind." This January, we have "how do you say we love you in slovak" and "drunk new year's party pictures." Is it a trend?

Mr. Bennett says:
Something I've wondered about, though not very intensely, is addressed in this article: Do Woodpeckers Get Headaches? If Not, Why Not? Here's the original, Ig Nobel Prize-winning article by Dr. Ivan Schwab. Which seems to address injury more than suffering. So I'm still wondering.

Happy new year to all!
The schedule has some new dates on it for the new year.

And the Old Marshal has put on the Baby New Year outfit once more for our front page. Thanks Bud!



Oh, look! He's escaped from the front page and turned up here! Nice to see you, little fellow.

Click here for

last year's news

Paul Averill Hotchkiss, 1941-2005.

Gerry Malone's letter to friends on learning of Hutch's death.

Sendoff at Sunfest. Farewell, old friend.

Obituary from the Danbury News-Times.

Memorial brick on the Boardwalk.

We're grieved to note the death, on December 5, 2004, of Linda Conner, formerly of Ocean City, late of Berlin, Md. She was a long-time friend and fan. She and her family have been familiar faces around Ocean City and Shenanigan's for many years. In honor of her memory, we have added a page to this website with some of her poems. We'll miss her.

Links too good to archive:

Nancy Millionie's insightful comments on the Oceancity.com message board. UNPAID AD: Nancy and Rick own a condo up by 23rd St. that they rent by the week. Seriously Parrot-headed decor.

Tim Antosy's Shenanigans page, with pictures!

Mr Bennett's pal Peter the painter, also known as Peter Lanouette, has a nifty site with lots of paintings on display. Mr. Bennett owns a few; you can, too!

Trimper's live webcam down by the inlet in Ocean City.

Another friend, Hector Owen, has a weblog. He might post something, someday.

Mr. Bennett, who wonders how long he can go on writing about himself in the third person, has recently done a few shows of the blues variety with Ragtime Jack Radcliffe, who is selling a new edition of the record he made with John Kerry on bass -- yes, John Kerry the candidate -- and appears on Mondays at the Griswold Inn in Essex, Connecticut, with the Jovial Crew, singing sea shanties and nautical ballads. And then there's the new CD version of the wonderful old Reprobates album. Jim's guitar classes start in September at the List Academy of Music and Art in Newport, RI.

UPDATE May 2005: No more Jovial Crew; guitar classes drawing to a close for the year.

If you have news, links, or anything else you think ought to be on this page, feel free to send them to . If I don't lose it, I might use it. Pictures to gmalonealone (at) yahoo (dot) com, or bennettje (at) gmail (dot) com.