Fun Razor for "Live From Studio 5!" at Plum's

We had a great Fun Razor last Sunday night thanks to Joe Carey and Tyrra.

All set up and ready to go!

Tyrra, Our Good Will Ambassador and Solicitor with Sheila Smith..

 Here’s the back story:  After the first Pledge show on “Live From Studio 5!” we had received only one $5 pledge.  (Five for five?)  Now that REALLY sux.  So I kinda let my anger get outta control and fired off a FaceBook post bemoaning that fact.  I was quite careful not to disparage either KFAI or it’s listeners.  The post was illustrated by tombstones for both KFAI and L5 and I made it clear that things had to change.  Although KFAI itself looks like it is squeaking by and will probably survive due to the monstrous good will and efforts of volunteers, our show may get the ax for being less productive.   

Barry Thomas Goldberg

Courtney Yasmineh

  We received lots of offers to share and help in any way possible.  One response was from Joe Carey.  Joe offered to host a Fun Razor at Plum’s Grill & Bar in St. Paul on Sunday night and I told him that only three days would not be enough time to do it right.  Pledge Drive would be over by the next Friday.  I told him he could do a benefit ANY time though and he was excited to look into it.  Then a week later I hear that he had already set up a benefit at Plum’s in St. Paul the next Sunday, entitled “Keep ‘em Alive at Studio 5!” (in response to my tombstones?)  

Jeff Ray

Carl Franzen

We were quite impressed so we got everything ready, the giant posters, CD premiums and I made a contribution box.  Me and my better half, Dew Glass, who is the spark plug of the show, set off early for Plum’s.  We put up the posters and arranged the donation table and waited patiently for the hoards to descend on the place.  

Joe Carey

Tucker Jensen

  The scheduled guests were mostly good friends of L5 or musicians who had performed on our show including the organizer Joe Carey, Courtney Yasmineh,  Good Old Barry Thomas Goldberg, who started off every number with “here’s a song I wrote”, very prophylactic, I mean prolific. Nikki Rue of Nikki and the RueMates was there with her husband, Rich Roux, Nolan James, Carl Franzen, who brought in his keyboard and put out a great sound.  It was not a piano sound or actually one I had heard before but the melody was haunting.

Dan & Katrina of Lakewood Cemetery

Nikki & Rich Reu

Then there was Nick Hensley, who, incidentally was not only a multi-talented multi -instrument musician, but he also kept the show going and operated the sound board.  Other performers included a duo, Lakewood Cemetery (Dan Krzykowski and Katrina Schleisman). Tom Aydan a young lad with a high vocal range and mad guitar skills, Jeff Ray who played the resonator accompanied by Nick Salisbury on bass and Joe Carey.  And Blair Krivanek along with Salisbury accompanied Joe at the end. The other two were Tucker Jensen 

and Peter Lochner.

Peter Lochner

Tom Aydan

  A great time was had by all and honest to god, every last musician put on a top notch performance.  They really unloaded their best on us.  Earlier I was getting a little nervous about donations but then Sheila Smith got a brilliant idea.  There was a little girl there about six years old who was a bundle of energy.  Her name was Kirra and she never stopped running around or dancing in her black floor-length dress all evening and she had a helium balloon.  She axted us if she could help in any way and that’s when Sheila enlisted her to solicit donations.  All she had to remember was K-F-A-I and we sent her on her way.  She went up to every last person in the bar and charmed them into giving generously.  

Nick Hensley

Nolan James

  I did not notice one bar patron who did not cough up for the cause.  I couldn’t always see her in the crowd but I knew where she was at  every moment because I could see her balloon floating above her.  Thank you Joe Carey, thanks to every musician and thanks for the donations.  Oh, and THANK YOU KIRRA!

Kirra Supervising