BlueStoneIvoryBlog

Who Shot the Bassman?

If you haven't heard the story yet, its very simple. Mark is trying for the ultimate publicity a BSI brother has ever achieved. He went so far as to get robbed point-blank and shot as well. Think it's scary? So did Mark. And especially his brand new bride Andi.

 
As the story goes. Andi and Mark were suppose to be on a little getaway in NYC. A slight mix up with the airline tickets and they were left back in Indianapolis clearing out a few last minute things of Marks and finally call Newport KY home.

They ended up late and hungry so they decided to walk to their favorite neighborhood restaurant the Pepper Pod for a little late dinner. It's 1:15 am and they are walking home when out of nowhere this "Perp" snuck up behind them, demanded Marks money, grabbed him behind the neck by his collar and dragged him down this alley and the gun went off. The bullet grazed his neck, entered the top of his shoulder and made a clean exit out the top of his back.

What a lucky guy to have someone like Andi stick with him and not faint. They took a quick trip to the hospital, cleaned the wounds, gave their report to the police and went home. I listened to the news the next day. Channel 19 only mentioned an attempted robbery with a non life threatening gunshot wound a block from a local restaurant in Newport Ky.

That is about all the publicity Mark got...darn it! I'm sure he was trying for so much more than that. He was on stage with us the following night at Carlo & Johnny. What a trouper. We are all super glad this "Perp" was a lousy shot. This will definitely be a great story to tell the grandkids someday.

Is Everyone Ready for Spring?

We are. And to kick things off with a big bang BlueStone Ivory will be playing the annual Cabin fever Reliever Dance at Sharonville's VFW Hall at 3318 East Sharon Rd on March 12.

We play this dance each year as a BIG Thank you to the kind folks at the VFW Hall. They welcome us in to rehearse there throughout the year. Without the VFW hall we would have a very difficult time putting together all the new tunes that we bring to you each year.

You will be able to dance the night away beginning at 8:00 pm right up to 12:00 midnight. The VFW Hall will charge a modest cover of $8.00 that will include chips, pretzels, cash bar, low drink prices and door prizes.

So please come out and enjoy the night. Every dollar you spend helps say Thank You for allowing us to have a safe, clean accomodating facility to practice.

For our complete schedule through May 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

Happy Birthday to You Crew...

In the last week we had a couple of very special birthdays. Last Thursday February 11th Dave Kastrup our fearless Crew leader and expert sound engineer better know as "Mongo" celebrated his birthday. This past Tuesday February 16th Doug, our second in command celebrated his. We always do it up right amongst the BSI brothers.

We had a special fudge brownie birthday cake (prepared by Mary Jo Rossignol) and Rusty & Gary designed a special birthday cards for the two of them and presented this all to them last Saturday at Jim & Jack's. The brownie cake was really GOOD.

Here they are, Doug & Dave. The musicians of BSI have to admit...these two are the best road crew/technicians a band could ever ask for. They are responsible for how good our sound comes out to you and how we look, lighting wise on stage. No magic can make us look really good...but they do the best they can. They are the first to show up at every gig and the last to leave. They unload, setup, and maintain all of our sound and lighting gear, plus drive everything to and from in our BIG Truck "Moby Dick".

THANKS GUYS, And Happy Birthday

We are at Guy's n Doll's this Friday night. We play from 9:00 pm till 1:00 am.

The concert at Princeton High School was rescheduled for March 27th.

For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

Introducing our new BSI Group Photo

Which one do you like? We have our favorite, maybe we can hear from you. Let us know which photo you like best using the comments button below. From top to bottom, left to right 1,2,3 or 4.

We all got together on Sunday afternoon and shot a whole bunch of photo's. Mary Jo did the pointing and shooting, I downloaded them and sent them all over to Rusty, He puts the final touches on them to make them look professional.

We are at Jim & Jacks this weekend. We do have a couple new and revised songs to play for you. Go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com for details. 

Don't forget about Valentines Day on Sunday. If you haven't done it yet, Call Lutz Flowersand order something special for the loved one in your life. They are offering a 15% discount on anything in the store if you say you are Friends of BlueStone Ivory.

For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

This Blog is for you, Tim

This video is amazing. First of all I wanted to feature our dear friend Tim O'Shea who had major cancer surgery last Monday morning, being given huge doses of Chemo and came out to see and hear his favorite band BlueStone Ivory. He had just enough strength to get on the dance floor during his favorite song "Standing on Shaky Ground" by Delbert McClinton. He really has the moves for just getting out of the hospital...doesn't he?

It will also show you a BSI performance from my perspective on stage. I stand to Rusty's left just behind Ted. I video'd this during our performance last Friday night. It looks and sounds a little different from here?

We plan to dedicate this song to you Tim every time we play it. Our thoughts and our prayers are for you to have a speedy recovery. We hope you will soon be able stop the Chemo and be able to taste food again. May God bless you till we see you again soon we hope.

This weekend we are playing a double header. It starts on Friday night at a new club for BlueStone Ivory. Putters 2 Putt in Maineville. We hope to make this a regular stop throughout the club season.

Saturday we are at Carlo & Johnny in Montgomery. Small club but they like us and we like them. It is a mutual labor of love for all of us. Visit www.BlueStoneIvory.comfor all the details.

Hopefully we will be releasing our entire Summer schedule in a few weeks. I can give you a few hints of where we will be: June 6th a brand new festival for BSI, All Saints in Kenwood. Right next door to where BlueStone Ivory was born at Moeller HS. June 12 we are at St Maximilian in Liberty Township. June 24 we will be in Lawrenceburg for the their Music on the River concert series. July 9th at our favorite summer place Coney Island with JD Hughes and Sunday June 11 at the Mason Sunshine concert Series. Just to name a few. So stay tuned for more summer concert and festival updates.

We hope you all enjoy the BSI blog. We try to put an interesting point of view on our performance and the personalities of the members of BlueStone Ivory and our fans. If you have any suggestions...feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the comment button below.

For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

Highlights from 2009

Off and on for the next couple of weeks I will provide some photos or video of some cherished moments of BlueStone Ivory for our fans. The following is a video Mary Jo took with my Panasonic DMC-ZS3 HD digital camera at Jim & Jack's on December 18, 2009. It features the legendary Mr Bob Wilson singing and playing one of my favorite Otis Redding songs "I've Been Lovin You Too Long".

The super good news is that Bob Wilson will be playing with us a couple times later in 2010. So for all you Bob Wilson fans...watch your email and our website for our Bob Wilson Alert.

Last Weekend we had a great time at Bar Seventy-One. In fact it was a capacity crowd. Too bad about the Bengals...but we definitely rocked the people till 1:30. Our good Friend Steve Scavo stopped in and sat in on the drums for Mustang Sally. Great job Steve.

 

Today is Karen's birthday...Happy Birthday Karen! She is always at our gigs. One of our many very loyal fans. This photo was taken last year of our birthday tribute for Karen.

If any one ever has a birthday or an anniversary and at one of our gigs be sure to come up and let us know. We would love to dedicate a song to you and publicly eembarrass you from the stage. Well not quite to this extent! But we promise to take care of your moment of fame with BlueStone Ivory.

We would like to send out a message to all of our friends to keep Tim O'Shea, another of our loyal fans in your prayers. He has been struggling with a bout of cancer this past year. He has been through Chemo and yesterday went through surgery to remove an infected lymph node in his liver. We were told the surgery was successful and he is back on Chemo. He is not out of the woods yet so all we can do is Pray for his speedy recovery. Prayer is powerful medicine. If anyone would like to get a message to Tim, just comment to this post and I will see that he gets it.

Be sure to come out to Jim & Jack's this Friday & Saturday nights. That is where you can dance the night away to the Rock-N-Soul, Rhythm-N-Roll sounds of BlueStone Ivory.

For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

How're we lookin?

2010 looks like it will be a terrific year for BlueStone Ivory fans. We will be playing a bunch. Starting in January...every weekend, February...every weekend, March...every weekend and April...every weekend.

WOW! There is more opportunity to see and listen to BlueStone Ivory than ever before. You can go to our website www.BlueStoneIvory.com for all the details.

New Years Eve was a real blast according to all that attended. I personally got to talk to many of the attendees and the consensus was two thumbs up all the way around.

 
Here is a photo of the festivities from December 31, 2009 just before the clock struck 12:00 and it turned into 2010. The dance floor was full all night long right up to 1:20 AM New Years day when we finally stopped playing.

The food was excellent, the service was superb and the guest's...well, they were great BSI fans. Each and every one.

As many know... New Years Eve is a special day for Ted our guitar player/vocalist. It's his birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY again to Ted.

New Years Eve turned out to be an exceptionally special day for another couple. Mark Walker and his girl friend Kerstin got engaged just before the festivities happened on the stage.

 Here is a short video showing off her sparkly ring.

We would like to wish them well in the future. Mark is our third guy on the crew that we use exclusively when we play the larger venues that call for a three man crew. Off & on during the summer you will see Mark working to help set up and then responsible for our lighting during the show.

This weekend we are at Bar Seventy-One in Deerfield Township. We start playing at 9:30 and play till 1:30 AM. Bar Seventy-One will be open for the Bengals game and are running a few specials they would like you to know about. They will have Drink and Appetizer Specials all afternoon during the big game. So come early, enjoy a great dinner and then you can dance the night away to the Rock-N-Soul, Rhythm-N-Roll sounds of BlueStone Ivory.

For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

Merry Christmas from BlueStone Ivory

We would like to wish all of our friends and fans a very Merry Christmas. We hope to see you all at the Marriott on New Years Eve. If you haven't made your reservations you can call the Marriott New Years Eve reservation line at 513-645-4607. There are a few packages still available.

Here is a video of BlueStone Ivory performing on Fox 19 WXIX TV on Christmas Day 2008.

 The contest winners of the New Years Eve packages are: Don & Cindy Chalfant (half package), David & Chris Loucks (half package) and Rick Ervin the Full package. Congratulations!

 For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

New Years Eve is near...Make your reservations NOW!

Our spotlight will be on Doug Shicks family this week. Doug is one of worlds greatest crew persons a band could ask for. You will see Doug running spotlight for us. He and Dave Kastrup are responsible for how we sound and look. They show up first and unload the truck and set up the stage at every gig. We couldn't do this without them. THANKS GUYS!

First of all a Happy Birthday to Debbie, Doug's wife. She celebrated her birthday at Bar Seventy-One on December 5th. They had cake and we played one of her favorite songs "Locomotive Breath".

 

Next a BIG THANK YOU goes to Dave Soete, Doug's son-in-law. He is the artist that designed our Caricature.

With the most recent changes in BlueStone Ivory it was necessary for Dave to make a few updates. He added Mark on bass and shaved Gary's mustache to match his brand new hairless upper lip look.

This is really a fun photo. We have a blast using as often as we can. As a matter of fact, everyone attending the New Years Eve Event at the Marriott Hotel this year will be receiving our 2010 magnet calendar with this photo attached. You will be able to display it on your refrigerator and mark all the BSI gigs on your handy calendar.

Time is running out...

to make your reservations for our fabulous New Years Eve Event 2009. You have until this Friday at 12:00 noon to make your reservations through our website www.BlueStoneIvory.com  to be entered into the drawing to win ONE of THREE GRAND PRIZES. We will be giving away One full package worth $325.00 and Two half packages worth $162.50 each (tax and gratuity not included).

It will be unbelievable again this year with the Marriott's deluxe room accommodations, dinner, dancing and open bar all night long, late check out the next day with breakfast buffet. All this for only $325.00 per couple. You will not be able to beat this party or price anywhere in the Cincinnati area.

You can pay an additional $75.00 and stay an extra night. That way you can watch the  play in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and all the other bowl games that day with all your friends in the fantastic bar on New Years day. The Marriott will provide free Hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon. You don't have to go anywhere for the time of your life.

So don't wait. The reservations are flowing in. We have the party 70% sold at this time. If you wait till after Christmas you may not get in. We have sold out each year for the past 3 years.

 For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

 

 

We do engagements and weddings too.

Many of our fans know us from Jim & Jack's, Carlo & Johnny, Bar Seventy-One, Guys N Dolls and many others know us from the many church festivals and community concerts we play throughout the summer. Many know us from Coney Island (one of our favorite places to play).

Lots of folks don't know that we play wedding receptions and private parties for anniversaries, birthdays or company parties. In fact we love to tailor an evening with a theme. Something we get to prepare for and deliver a special performance.

 Teresa & Byron Vance did a remarkable thing this year. A couple of months ago in front of the band stand in the middle of the dance floor Byron, with our microphone in hand, got down on one knee and re-proposed to Teresa.

Of course she said yes!

Their original wedding day was November 24, 1979. Almost 30 years later they retied the knot on November 21, 2009 and came to Jim & Jack's to celebrate with us. Congratulations Teresa & Byron. We were proud to play at your engagement party.

It's time to make your reservations for our fabulous New Years Eve Event 2009. It will be unbelievable again this year with the Marriott's deluxe room accommodations for two, dinner, dancing and open bar all night long, late check out the next day with breakfast buffet. All this for only $325.00 per couple. You will not be able to beat this party or price anywhere in the Cincinnati area.

You can pay an additional $75.00 and stay an extra night. That way you can watch the  play in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and all the other bowl games that day with all your friends in the fantastic bar on New Years day. The Marriott will provide free Hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon. You don't have to go anywhere for the time of your life.

Not only that but if you register through our website www.BlueStoneIvory.com. You will be entered into the contest to win one of three grand prizes. One complete package for two and 2 half packages for two. (excluding tax and gratuity) So don't wait. The reservations are flowing in. We have the party 50% sold at this time. If you wait till after Christmas you may not get in. We have sold out each year for the past 3 years.

 For our complete schedule through April 2010 & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com

 

Introducing Mark Bertram

Last Saturday night at Jim & Jack's was the first time Mark played with BlueStone Ivory. The general consensus is He did great! Actually better than great. He will be a definite benefit to the BlueStone Ivory family. Check out the video...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com   you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in  Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!   It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?  Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you.  Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do.  We can never say enough thank you's. 

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!

From all of us in BlueStone Ivory we wish each and everyone of you a Blessed and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. We will see you all on December 5th at Bar Seventy-One.

Don't forget to register for our fabulous New Years Eve Event 2009. It will be unbelievable again this year with the Marriott's deluxe room accommodations for two, dinner, dancing and open bar all night long, late check out the next day with breakfast buffet. All this for only $325.00 per couple. You will not be able to beat this party or price anywhere in the Cincinnati area.

Not only that but if you register through our website www.BlueStoneIvory.com. You will be entered into the contest to win one of three grand prizes. One complete package for two and 2 half packages for two. (excluding tax and gratuity) So don't wait. The reservations are flowing in. We have the party 20% sold at this time. If you wait till after Christmas you may not get in. We have sold out each year for the past 3 years.

For our complete schedule & directions to our gigs, or to listen to samplings of BlueStone Ivory or view hundreds of photos & now videos from past gigs go to www.BlueStoneIvory.com

If you are interested in booking BlueStone Ivory for a party, dance or wedding call Gary Rossignol. Phone 513-777-2402 or toll free 800-670-2402.

Email: Gary@BlueStoneIvory.com