Prior Recent News

Aug 9, 2004: John's 5th Annual Trio Fantasy Camp w/Nick Reynolds happens this week in Scottsdale, AZ. Here's the Info: Where: Scottsdale Plaza Resort Address: 7200 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, Arizona 85253 Dates: Friday, Aug 13th & Saturday, Aug 14th Time: 7:30 PM Tix: $15 at door If you're a Trio Fan, it's a must. John brings together 20 "Campers" who play Trio songs for 3 days. It culminates in two evening concerts at the Scottsdale Plaza. On Friday, the Campers form their own trios and play Trio songs all night. On Saturday, they get to join John & Nick on stage to be the 3rd member of the "Trio." Each night there is 3 to 4 hours of non-stop music and fun...come join in

August 5, 2004: Sad news. Pat Horine died Wednesday night, August 4th. Pat, along with Jim Conner, joined together with Bob Shane to form "The New Kingston Trio" after John Stewart and Nick Reynolds left the Kingston Trio. Pat died from smoke inhalation following a fire in his kitchen in Lexington Kentucky. Pat was just 59. I had a chance to see the "New Kingston Trio" at a club in Marin County - not knowing of the new members I was totally perplexed that night thinking that I should be seeing THE Kingston Trio. Nevertheless, the group, one of several configurations of the Trio was very good and it is sad to know that Pat has gone.

After what seemed like a very long time, John has again been writing songs. Several have been performed at recent concerts. Perhaps the most amazing of the bunch is one called "Sister Mercy" Here's just a snip of the great lyrics from a recent performance: "She said nothing is forever So grab it while you can Find your dreams along the river As they move across the land Move across the land... And the summer in the badlands Was where I once ran wild She would take me to the river As a mother takes a child "'. Classic Stewart.

Here's a review from a recent show at the end of June in Minden Nevada, courtesy of Bonnie Ragains: It was a great show for me, as I had not seen him perform since the early 80's. He was my absolute favorite musician/songwriter when I was a teenager in the Phoenix area, where he performed regularly at the Celebrity Theatre. So, meeting him in Minden some thirty years later was a real thrill! I have not been following him closely for awhile, so a few of the songs were new to me. I was especially impressed by the tune "The Man Who Would be King". I think he may have been frustrated with the sound quality, as he had to repeatedly ask the sound guy to "turn up voice, turn up guitar", etc. The second set he really warmed up and seemed to be having a good time, cracking jokes, etc. It may have been a challenge to play to that crowd, as many of them seemed to be there for the picnic rather than the music (people on cell phones, rude people talking too loud, kids running & screaming). It was a free concert, so that attracts a different audience. We sat in the very front and tried to focus on the performance. "Baby it's You" was a fun tune, one I'd love to hear him do again with a piano and maybe drums. He did a new song (title escapes me) that my group really enjoyed, some lyrics in it about a dream that a friend had, where she put her hand into a rainbow and it burned. (?) Anyway, I'm ready for another concert, one in which the audience pays to listen to John, the 'music hero' of my youth. Sincerely, Bonnie

May 1, 2004: The show scheduled for tonight in Santa Cruz was cancelled due to lack of advance ticket sales. Don't let this happen in your town! A show for Sunday May 2 at the Rancho Nicassio in Marin County has been added. Keep up to date on the tourdates page. Reports from recent shows are that Hall of Fame and all time winningest female jockey Julie Krone, who is a big Stewart fan, has been joining John and Buffy on stage for some songs. Recent set lists sound like John, as usual, is always mixing it up. "He never plays a song the same way once."

April 27, 2004: I received a note from John's nephew and sadly must report that John's sister Liz Parsons passed away on April 17.

OK this is funny. We've all misheard lyrics from songs. Here's some from John's "Gold"

April 3, 2004: 80 candles are on the birthday cake for Doris Day today. A classy lady and a darn good singer and actress. Happy Birthday Doris.

March 20, 2004: Things have generally been quiet in Stewart-land but with Spring upon us I think an update is overdue. For many fans, one of the real highlights of recent weeks has been the release of "Signals Through The Glass" on CD. This was the last remaining album never released on CD, and Folk Era worked tirelessly with Capitol records to secure the best master recording to finally make this available. This was Stewart's first album after leaving the Kingston Trio and was as a duo with his future wife Buffy Ford. You can get it right now for $13 from Rediscover Music along with a number of other recent Stewart recordings.

A bunch of Spring and Summer tour dates are rolling out - keep up to date on the tourdates page

Dec 2, 2003: Uh oh. Small change to my note of Nov 21 about the Tanforan CD. The special home-burned tour CD that John prepared and sold on his Fall East Coast Tour included the 15 tracks as listed in my October 4 news item below. However, the "official" CD that can be ordered through Neon Dreams that features Tanforan and Art Faller's Land includes 8 additional live cuts. The tracks on the new Tanforan CD are: Tanforan, Art Faller's Land, July You're A Woman, Moonlight Dream, China Sky, Wind On The River, It Ain't The Gold, Renegade Rising, Dreamers On The Rise and One Eyed Joe.

Nov 21, 2003: For those who would like a copy of the '03 East Coast tour CD, "Tanforan", you are in luck. The disc includes two "works in progress", the title song "Tanforan", inspired by Seabiscuit, and the cute little ditty "Art Faller's Land". The bonus, however, is thirteen live tracks taken from a great recent show. A mix of seldom heard songs, with John putting a different spin on some of these that is really nice. Highlights for me include a slowed down version of "Summer Child", and great versions of "China Sky", "Freeway Pleasure", and more, with a rousing closer "One Eyed Joe" which appears on the recent Havana release. You can get a copy of the CD from John's Neon Dream's label by sending $20, which includes postage, to: Paul Rybolt, 4981 Cornerstone Trail, Yellow Springs Ohio 45387

Oct 25, 2003: I have a large backlog of photos to add to the photo gallery. Here's a start: Rialto Theater June 2003 and Jimmy Duke's June 2003

Be sure to check the tourdates page for some upcoming gigs.

October 19, 2003: They do some strange things with banjos in Oregon. Check out this news story from CNN.

Rumor has it that the "Tanforan" CD that gathered so much praise amongst the few fans who got hold of the tour CD may yet see a wider release. Also being considered for release is a collection of songs that John has been performing in concert in a new style. "Macon Georgia 1945" is the working title.

Oct 4, 2003: John introduced several new songs on his recent East Coast Tour, among them "Tanforan" a song that John was inspired to write after seeing the movie "Seabiscuit" and a funny tune called "Art Faller's Land". Those who attended John's shows on the East Coast the past few weeks were also able to pick uo a special tour CD that John only sold on the tour. It is not otherwise available. The songs on the CD include the new "Tanforan" and reworkings of many classic Stewart tunes from a live show. The songs on the tour CD are: 1. Tanforan 2. Art Faller's Land 3. July You're a Woman (ballad) 4. Waltz of the Crazy Moon 5. Summer Child 6. Moonlight Dream 7. Freeway Pleasure 8. Wind on the River 9. Renegade Rising 10. Heart of a Kid 11. It Ain't the Gold 12. China Sky 13. Sweet Dreams Will Come 14. Dreamers on the Rise 15. One-Eyed Joe John is also doing parts of some sets in a new slowed down bluesy style that has been referred to as "Macon 1945" working songs around his old classic song "Summer Child".

Aug 23, 2003: I'm pleased to make available an mp3 file of John Stewart and Chris Whalen's "Dylan and Young do Vegas" comedy routine where John and Chris sing Moon River . My thanks to Bob S.

Aug 2, 2003: I received the sad news recently that John's former bass player, Chris "The Mountain" Whelan has passed away. Fans of "The Loudest Folk Band in America" will remember Chris playing bass in his big white "Hoss" hat in the late 70's and early 80's. He had a sweet voice and was a nice down to earth guy. One of my favorite memories of Chris was when he and John did a parody of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. John did Bob and Chris nailed Neil Young, and when he sang "Moon River" like he was Neil Young it would bust your gut. Farewell my "Huckleberry Friend". If anyone has some fond memories and photos of Chris that they would like to share please email them to me at REBeffa@aol.com as I'd like to put together a small page here in the Cellar in Chris's memory.

Another of John's former bass players, the great Arnie Moore is also recovering from recent neck surgery. He's doing well but I'm sure some kind thoughts would be appreciated. You can contact Arnie at Wyidelode@aol.com

Be sure to check the tourdates page for some upcoming gigs. East Coast tour dates being posted for the Fall.

If you couldn't guess, John Stewart is really taken with the recent "Seabiscuit" movie. I haven't heard a single person NOT like it yet. John writes: "I've seen Seabiscuit twice already and plan to go back many times. Seabiscuit had affected me a lot of ways. One I've always been in love with the legend of Seabiscuit since I can remember. All his great races happened around the time I was born. Being that my Father was a show and race horse trainer, I spent most of my weekends and all of my summers on the race track. Santa Anita, Bay Meadows, Tanforan, Del Mar and the Los Angeles County Fair Grounds in Pomona. I remember going to the track when I was five, that was 1944 and they were playing Glen Miller on the radio in the tack room. I can't remember the exact time line but everybody was talking about Seabiscuit for years to come. By the time I was seven or eight I was cleaning tack and helping muck stalls and wash down the harness with big soaked sponges in bigger tin buckets after the horses had worked in the morning. My Father trained Harness Horses so we had sulkies, harness and tack to deal with on what seemed like an hourly schedule. In my Father's row of about four stalls were his three horses and one he was training for someone else. I can't remember his name. He had two real grooms or as we were called "Gins" to take care everything in "Fort What, DE Hell" that my Father couldn't be bothered with. There was "Shorty" who was short, He looked like he could have been a jockey and maybe he was at one time. He walked like he'd been broken a few times. He didn't say much but he was really nice to me and showed me some good tricks with lathering tack so I would get yelled at by my Father, I was always being yelled at by my Father. Then there was Luther Chantell. Luther was a middle aged man, big in girth who stood about five eleven in worn through high top joddfers. Luther was always dressed in khaki, Khaki pants, khaki shirt, khaki braces that just barely held his pants up over his friendly pink beer gut that hung down out of his khaki pants, almost like an old stuffed bed you'd love just to crawl into. Luther knew my Father didn't like me, Luther knew my Father didn't really like anybody, so he went out of his way to give me a wink or tickle me around the waist when we were walking back to "Fort What, De Hell" from the Morning workout."

March 1, 2003: Added numerous files to the The Archives of Bloodlines

For a diversion have a go at the Kingston Crossword:
interactive and traditional you can print and The key if you're stuck

February 16, 2003: Stewart fans will be happy to know that the long awaited release of "Havana" is finally upon us. It is scheduled for release in late March but can be pre-ordered now for earlier shipping from Appleseed records. Click HERE for details about the recording. This is not a CD of the prior tour cassette, but rather a reworking and new production of the songs including the addition of "Lucky Old Sun" the old Ray Charles and Frankie Laine classic that sounds like it came from the pen of John himself. Those lucky few who have heard John perform this song live in the last couple years know that John has made this song his own. Equally exciting are the addition of three more tracks besides "Lucky Old Sun": JS originals "Star in the Black Sky Shining" (an in-concert favorite for several years), "Cowboy in the Distance," and "Waltz of the Crazy Moon".

An article about Michael can be found at WeFive.net

Oct 26, 2002: And now for something a little different ...
John Stewart Crosswords. #1:
interactive and traditional you can print and key if you're stuck
John Stewart Crossword #2:
interactive and traditional you can print and key if you're stuck The interactive versions include a cheat key. I'll have a Kingston Trio one shortly if you enjoy this

I'll put up details shortly about two new limited releases available from Stewart; CD versions of the Secret Tapes and a live concert recorded earlier this year in San Diego as well.

Sept 28, 2002: "Mother Outlaw's been giving me jaw, saying why don't you marry the girl?" Those words of course are from John's "All Time Woman" from the Cannons in the Rain album, a thinly disguised love song to Buffy, whom he would indeed marry a few years later.

With regret I must report that Mother Outlaw, Buffy's mom, Nanci Ford, passed away last week. This is a time of sadness for John and Buffy and their family and our hearts go out to them. But some of us like to remember the spirit that was Nanci Ford. She had come with John and Buffy to a number of their appearances in Northern California a few years ago. Friend Kate Snow recalls seeing a show Buffy performed at the West End in San Rafael. "A large part of that show was story after story about Buffy's crazy, wonderful family. At one point Buffy had to beg her mom to get up on stage with her to sing a song from their past, but once Nanci got up there, Buffy almost had to push her off the stage. She was a true character, in the very best sense of the word."

I remember with fondness a time Mother Outlaw was "giving me jaw" during intermission at a Palms show in the Spring of '96. My friend Catherine recalls: "Nanci used to come to most of the Sweetwater gigs. She was a character, full of life, always happy to chat with us. One night I remember her dancing and twirling and loudly singing "All Time Woman". This was not part of the show--just a little impromptu performance at break time. She pointed at herself and said "This song is about meeeeeeeee!" God rest her sweet soul. "

Tim Riley remembers: "I was lucky enough to meet Buffy's mom a few years ago at a show at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley. Before and after the show some of us joined in the conversation with Buffy, her brother and her mom. Her mother was a wonderful woman with a twinkle in her eye.

I'll finish with a remembrance from John and Buffy's close friend Tom DeLisle: "Those of you who get The Finger will recall Buffy's colorful recollections of her mother and her family while she was growing up; the Fords were quintessential California beatniks and free spirits back in the '50s, always on the move, residing in various places around California and Mexico. I think I recall Buffy saying that when Nanci would drop Buffy at school, she was apt to say "Here honey, in case you have to buy lunch" and give her a $100 bill. The Fords would hold crazy parties that would go on for days, and Nanci would make a bathtub of spaghetti to feed the transient mob. I met Nanci first in 1973, and she was always fun and outspoken and usually hilarious, sometimes even shocking but in a gentle way. One of the jobs she had in northern California in those days was catering a porn movie (!). She moved among the creative folks in NorCal, and lived in a really cool and big old turn-of-the-century home. She seemed the perfect hip California new age Mom and Grandma, and just about whom you'd expect would be Buffy's mother, a great and unique character who was the mother of a great and unique character. I last saw Nanci Ford at John and Buffy's house in Novato in 1996, and she was as fun and outrageous as usual. After a night's dining outdoors at a local Mexican restaurant, with the ensuing hilarity, we went back to J&B's and talked about ghosts and sex and ufos and the world until well past 2 a.m. (I can still hear Buffy laughing and saying "Mother!" when Nanci dropped something wild into the conversation.) My own mother was along on that trip, and she hit it off well with Nanci, and said of her when we left "Wow, she's really something." Those so inclined might say a prayer tonight for Nanci Ford, and for her family, Buffy and John and her two brothers Marc and Skif. Paul mentioned in his message that Buffy is, of course, having a rough time right now, and she certainly needs our support. She had suffered much along with her Mom in recent years, and this is a terrible blow for her. And we can thank Nanci Ford in our hearts and prayers for having brought such a special person as Buffy into the world and all our lives."

A 2 CD set release pulled from John's "Secret Tapes I and II" cassette releases of the late '80's is in the works. The cassette's were originally sort of official bootlegs of works in progress for John at the time. Some of the songs made it in to official releases but most did not. Many fan favorites such as "China Skies" reside only on these aging tapes. They are being remastered by John Hoke and will include some additional cuts from John not previously released. I'll let you know when the CD is available. Also still in the works is a remastered version and official release of "Havana" which has only had a short cassette release that was sold through shows and mail order a couple years ago. A number of great songs reside on that album including "Turn of The Century" and "Waiting For Castro to Die". There will be new songs.

Be sure to check the tourdates page for some upcoming gigs.

Sept 14, 2002: On August 10 John played his last show at the Palms. The old barn is being torn down for development, a terrible loss to the music community. However, Dave Fleming, manager of the Palms is opening a new Palms in nearby Winters. Here is a brief review of the show and over 30 photos I took from John's final performance there: http://www.clackscellar.com/Palms802.htm

Reports are that John's Fantasy Camp with Nick Reynolds was another success. Bob Shane showed up in the audience to watch, but no, he did not join John and Nick to perform any songs.

Rumor has it that John might get together for a gig and fun with Billy Edd Wheeler, the author of "Coal Tattoo" which the Kingston Trio performed and which John includes in recent concerts the last few years- powerful song that never fails to knock me out when John does it. Billy Edd is also the author of "Reverend Mr. Black" and "Desert Pete", among others. He has a new website: www.billyeddwheeler.com

June 9, 2002: 23 years ago on June 2, 1979 saw the release of John's "Gold" which would become the biggest hit of his career.

Rob from Florida gives a great report on John's early May appearance at The Gamblefest in Florida: "I have always been a big Stewart fan. I had never had the opportunity to see John in concert, though. I finally saw John at the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival in St. Augustine. He played for almost two hours with a wonderful bass player named Steve. He did 22 songs, including "The Americans." Although it was a humid Florida night and the concert was outdoors, John was in great form. His voice seemed strong and didn't falter on the high notes. I thought he looked great, also. I was a little worried at first because I had read some nasty comments on the Kingston Trio page, but I wanted to tell you personally that John still has "it," whether you call it charisma, talent, or soul. He sang so passionately, and his guitar playing is intricate, although he makes it seem so effortless. The only problem with the concert is that there were four acts in front of him , so Jophn did not take the stage until 9:30. Some of the older people in the audience who had been there since 7:00 left in the middle of his set, which I thought was rude. Although all of the preceding acts were marvelous, especially Michael Smith, I wish they had scheduled one less opening act, so John wouldn't have come on when everyone was tired. Still, it was an amazing night, and I got to see four opening acts and John Stewart for just $15.00. He really does relate to an audience well. He is so friendly and relaxed, except when he sings, and then a spiritual intensity seems to take over.

Here are a couple of quick pix of John and Steven the Stingboy on bass at the recent Kingston Trio tribute at the Birchmere. Photos courtesy of Mike Butters. Birchmere 1 Birchmere 2

Coming up this next weekend are four Southern California shows including a FREE one at Muldoon's Pub. See tourdates page.

April 28, 2002: John Stewart will be having a Fantasy Camp again this summer with Nick Reynolds. It will be August 15-17 at the Scottsdale Plaza in Arizona. The camp is limited to 18 participants and there are still 3 slots left. For additional details please contact Paul Rybolt who is helping John organize the show at ryboltcox@earthlink.net

Paul also reports "John will be performing at the American Stage Theatre in St. Pete in Florida on Friday night May 3rd. It will be a combination silent art auction and Concert. John will be the featured artist as well as the sole performer at the concert. The tickets are $55.00 as it is a very small venue. Information can be had by calling the Arts Center at 727-822-7872. If this doesn't work you can reach Bill Bush at 727-320-0333 (work) or 727-392-2117 (home). For those of you who are not familiar with John's artwork this would be a great time to check it out. I think there will be a a wide variety of pieces available; drawings, oils, photographs and sketches. All of them absolutely beautiful." Contact Paul if you are interested. ryboltcox@earthlink.net

Apr 20, 2002: Last night was the first of two nights at the Kingston Trio tribute show at the Birchmere in Virginia, sponsored by the WFMA (World Folk Music Association). Tim Riley reports that John joined the current lineup of the Kingston Trio onstage to perform "Chilly Winds" and that there seemed to be a real attempt at good will and very good feelings between Bob Shane and John. John's own set at the show was Coal Tattoo, Lock All the Windows, Reasons to Rise - w/ Buffy, Survivors - w/Buffy and The Americans - w/Buffy. Tim also reports that The Limelighters were a real highlight of the show.

Mar 23, 2002: Things have been pretty quiet as far as Stewart news goes. Some tour dates were added recently, such as the Iron Horse so be sure to check the tourdates page.

Feb 15, 2002: John sold his Kingston Trio Anniversary Edition banjo. This is the banjo that was presented to John by the Martin Guitar Co. in 1997 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Kingston Trio. Martin produced only 34 sets of these special anniversary edition instruments. Each set consisted of a Kingston Trio D28 guitar, a Kingston Trio tenor guitar and a Kingston Trio Vega long neck banjo. John's banjo is from the #2 set.

Buffy is still recovering from the effects of the chemotherapy last Fall, but doing well. She appeared with John at a recent concert at the Palms.

The music world suffered a tremendous loss this week with the death of Waylon Jennings. I'm still trying to process it. I can honestly say that Waylon's country rock had a huge impact on me in the 70's and 80's and helped tune my ear to an appreciation of the country side of music.

Dec 2, 2001: I have wonderful news to report about John's wife Buffy. Tests this past week showed that the combination of chemotherapy and radiation (and all that positive energy and thoughts beamed her way) that was intended to shrink her intestinal tumor, prior to planned surgery, has worked to completely eliminate it. Buffy is still weak from the effects of the treatment, but this is just wonderful news. She shared these thoughts with fans through friend Tom DeLisle on the Bloodlines mailing list: "Please tell the Bloodliners that their prayers saved me. I could feel their healing thoughts and energies all along. I don't know what I would have done without them. Please tell them THANK YOU. I love them, and feel SO blessed. They saved me." Keep up those positive thoughts for Buffy through her recovery period.

John's trip through Japan has been reported to be a great success, with over 2000 fans attending the first show. The Kingston Trio and American folk music is still very popular in Japan and John was very well received. I imagine it might have been a bit of a time warp shock for John, not to mention fans showing up in Trio style striped shirts!

A gig at the Palms in Davis, CA is planned for January 5

John debuted a newly written song at the Cayucos show, "The Americans" that drew a standing ovation. Plans are in the works to try and fast track this to a public release on a major label.

Nov 5, 2001: Be sure to check the tour dates page for the dinner/concert in Cayucos this coming Friday. There is a possibility of John playing several dates in Japan later this month! This has been rumored for a while but details are still not confirmed.

Sept 22, 2001: John has decided to cancel his east coast tour for October to stay home with Buffy. Buffy is just finishing up her initial 5 weeks of treatments.

Song of the Day is going to be themed a bit around the heart of America and her spirit through John's songs.

Aug 29, 2001: Reports from participants in the "Trio" Fantasy camp with John and Nick Reynolds held in Scottsdale this past weekend were very positive. John's wife Buffy has begun 5 weeks of intensive radiation and chemo treatment for her intestinal tumor. Doctors hope to reduce the size and then remove it by surgery after the five weeks of treatment. This is very rough on Buffy and your good thoughts and wishes in her direction can only help her get through this. When I saw her perform several weeks ago with John at the Palms she was one of the highlights of the show and one would not believe her strength in light of what she is facing.

Shortly before treatment began Buffy was also able to achieve a life long wish to swim with dolphins as she and John went to San Diego and thanks to the generous efforts of Chuck Rennie she rode with a dolphin around a pool and bonded with it.

East coast tour is in the works for October.

July 28, 2001: I have two important bits of news to report, one of which saddens me greatly. John's wife Buffy has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Further tests are scheduled for next week and surgery will follow soon after. John and Buffy would very much appreciate your good thoughts, energy and prayers directed towards Buffy's quick recovery from this crisis. Two, the Fantasy Camp will happen near the end of August, around the 24th or 25th for three days, again in Arizona. A few slots are left so if you are interested contact Paul Rybolt ASAP at ryboltcox@earthlink.net

June 15, 2001: There's talk of a possible second Fantasy Camp with John this August or September. The likely location is in Marin County, California.

John's recent "Johnny Moonlight: Waltz of the Crazy Moon" Cd has been released with a new cover. For those who wish you can download it at http://www.clackscellar.com/misc/Jmcover.jpg It is a large file so it likely won't display well for online viewing, so I would recommend downloading it and reopening it on your PC or Mac before printing. It should be sized correctly for most printing but you may wish to preview and adjust it. You can also just go to the directory at http://www.clackscellar.com/misc/ and on a PC right click the file name Jmcover.jpg and select save target as to download to your machinne.

Steve Earle has a book out. Doghouse Roses is a collection of short fiction. Amazon has it.

June 7, 2001: John Hartford passed away on June 4th. For each of us who appreciated music, a little part of us has died. And a little part of us us must carry John along, in our memories, ever gentle on our minds. Remember him with his smile, that twinkle in his eyes, bowler hat tipped just a bit to the side, feet tap dancing a little like a jig, his banjo and fiddle at home in his arms. Go gently into the night John, riding that steamboat down the big river ....

It's knowing that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And it's knowing I'm not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that have dried upon some line
That keeps you in the backroads
By the rivers of my memory
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind

It's not clinging to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that binds me
Or something that somebody said
Because they thought we fit together walking
It's just knowing that the world will not be cursing
Or forgiving when I walk along some railroad track and find
That you are moving on the backroads
By the rivers of my memory
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind

Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman crying to her mother
'Cause she turned and I was gone
I still might run in silence tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me 'til I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see you walkin' on the backroads
By the rivers flowing gentle on my mind

I dip my cup of soup back from the gurglin'
Cracklin' caldron in some train yard
My beard a roughning coal pile and
A dirty hat pulled low across my face
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
I pretend I hold you to my breast and find
That you're waving from the backroads
By the rivers of my memory
Ever smilin' ever gentle on my mind

5/15/01: Fire in the Wind is finally out on CD, with 5 bonus tracks from the era never before released on CD. Order your copy now straight from Homecoming Records. Get the Fire!

5/6/01: Tom Deslisle recently talked with Buffy. In the near future she will be undergoing a delicate operation to fix her eye. Something called a "pillow" will be inserted behind her eye, between it and the tumor. The surgery hopefully will not affect her vision, and correct a drooping in the affected eye.

I've been reloading many of the Bloodlines archives that have been missing for some months.

The ever busy California Roadman caught up with John in Seligman Arizona at the Route 66/Angel Delgadillo celebration on May 4 and has a collection of photos for all to enjoy at http://www.sonic.net/roadman/bloodnotes/665-01

Roadman has also learned why John calls Rt 66 the Blue Dream Road: He said that in Texas at sunset there is an
incredible blue light that falls accross the windshield.

Fire in the Wind should be out this month on CD from Wrasse Records (UK)

4/14/2001: John has a new video out, "Front Row Moonlight" that has garnered quite a bit of praise from those who have seen preview copies. You can read more about it and order it from the Chillywinds site here.

New tour dates are being added in to the tourdates page. Seems the possible Ireland tour for this Spring has been delayed.

Rosanne Cash's new book, Songs Without Rhyme : Prose by Celebrated Songwriters, with chapters written by many notable songwriters continues to get high praise from readers. Check it out if you can.

I've had my hands full with computer problems recently so I apologize for the slowness of news. Thank your lucky stars if you've never suffered a hard drive failure.

3/26/01: Sid Jordan, who performed with John in the Dream Babies days as "Sydney Fox" has kindly shared some photos of her and John onstage. Hopefully before too long I'll have a short "Q&A" with Sid to share some remembrances. For the moment, please check out the photos in the Gallery

3/19/01: Rosanne Cash has a new book out with chapters by some of the best singer-songwriters out there. John has a chapter of his own. The book is called Songs Without Rhyme : Prose by Celebrated Songwriters
and it is available at Amazon.com

Nice loose show at the Palms on Friday March 9th. Dave Batti reprised his performance from the WFMA tribute with a smoking rendition of Stewart's "Dead Snakes". John's performance drew songs from across his career. He wowed the crowd with outstanding covers of two Steve Earle tunes: He paired "Halo Round The Moon" with his own "Hearts and Dreams on the Line" and later did a ripping version of Earle's "Galway Girl". Now one day Stewart will hear Earle's "Ft Worth Blues" and who knows what will happen. I was pleased to hear Stewart once again do the Beatles "Get Back" in the encore.

The Song of the Day and the Lyrics database is going to be down for a while while the server that holds the database is moved. It will return.

Spring tourdates are coming up for the East Coast in May as well as Stewart's appearance in Seligman Arizona in early May for the Rt 66 fest. See the tourdates page for more info.

2/13/01: And now for something completely different.... Bloodliner Mike Hayes has a mystery novel out, "Mad Dog and Englishmen" which has drawn some nice comments and praise and this recommendation from Tom DeLisle: "A deft touch for irony!" Mike has slipped some Stewart references into the story and the lyrics to "Kansas" are even inscribed on the flyleaf. Clack says check it out at Amazon.

2/4/01: New tour dates in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Sweetwater, Palms & Freight & Salvage. See the tourdates page for more info.

1/25/01: Plans are in the works to finally release a CD of "Fire in the Wind" this spring on Wrasse records. Rumor has it that if we get really lucky there may be a few previously unrleeased bonus tracks included. Maybe some early demos of Gold & Lost Her in the Sun & Wilderness. Do I hear votes for Old Gunfighter? Zapatta? Susan on the Silver Screen? Sky Blue 8? Wings of St Michael? Ain't No Rocks in my Road? Some cuts from the "Piano album"? Oh yeah. I don't want much, I just want it all.....

In the next month or two John will be performing in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Palms , The Freight & Salvage and The Kuumbwa

1/19/01: Here ya go ... a full report on the WFMA tribute concert the weekend of January 12-13 with my thanks to Spencer Lewis, Tim Riley and Paul Rybolt

1/17/01: I will be posting a detailed report on the World Folk Music Association tribute soon. To whet your appetite here's a quick review of some of the highlights courtesy of Tim Palmer:

WFMA 2001: Good folks making good music. Recorded live from Table 323, Seat 1 at The Birchmere, January 12-13, 2001. Highlights too many to list include:
- Chuck McDermott summarizing John Stewart's songwriting, "It's amazing," as Chuck finished singing "The Eyes of Sweet Virginia."
- The funny face Peter Tork made at John Stewart as Tork sang the Monkee/Annie "now you know how 'happy' I can be"; and the appreciative roar when John sang "funky" a little later.
- Dave Batti singing "Bad Rats" and describing how the song sprang from a newspaper story that John didn't forget to save.
- Maura Kennedy flinging off her velvet jacket and shifting into full-tilt go-go girl in her little black shimmy-shimmy dress during JS's Saturday night finale. "Shake them chads off my shoes."
- Peter Kennedy making like Stills to JS's Young in some bodacious face-to-face riffing. Rockin' the free world indeed.
- The Kingston Trio. Beat the system and you, too, can sport a silver ponytail. You're doing it for all of us, Bob, even if ours are still inside our heads.
- Buffy. Can someone be more beautiful in '01 than she was in '74. Buffy is. Thanks for signing my 'Signals' cover, and please be assured of my prayers.
- Nanci. Love those satin pants, love that blue guitar. I'll come back for your tribute night and love you from afar.
- All the pickers, all the healing in your songs.
- Noel Paul Stookey singing "For the love of it all." Cuz, y'know, that's what brought all of us here.

1/11/01: I had planned to close the Cellar, and did so, on 1/1/01. After more than 4 years I no longer had the time and energy to maintain it in a way that I felt it deserved. I thought it better to close than to leave it a derelict site on the net. I had scaled back my time for some months and finally decided it was time to close. I have been persuaded, however, for a time at least, to keep the Cellar open so that visitors may explore the many resources contained within. There is a wealth of information about John hidden around within this Cellar.

Most of the archives of Bloodlines are no longer online.

However, there will be few updates to the Cellar for the forseeable future. I would suggest that you visit the Chillywinds site to check for additions to John's tour schedule.

12/31/2000: Remember to keep your dreams as clean as silver.

12/11/2000: The house concert in Lakeside California (near San Diego) on Friday night was a terrific show. Jimmy Duke has a great setup for an intimate show with superb sound and lighting. About 90 people packed into his living room and deck for the 2 and 1/2 hour show. Lots of great songs, company, food and drink. Jimmy is hoping to make it an annual event. "Dave" on bass was unbelievably energized. One theory ran that he had eaten too much of the delicious chocolate cake. I don't know, but the boy was hot. John was in superb voice and got off many hot licks on his Strat-like purple electric Squire as well as the Taylor acoustic. One of the best shows of the year all things considered. You can see some photos of the show at Jimmy Duke's website: www.darkthirty.com . The McCabe's shows the next night were marred by lousy sound and the less said about the shows the better. Except that John did do one excellent electric version of the Beatle's "Get Back". There, I COULD think of something good about the shows.

11/25/00: Thanks to Jon Averill for some photos from the Mountain Stage Live show on Oct 29. You can see them here.

Last week's show at the Powerhouse in Sebastopol was one of the good ones. It was a terrific re-energizing show. John appeared to be enjoying himself, and added some extended guitar work to several songs which is always a treat. One of the highlights of this was "Cheyenne". He had some pretty decent election humor, and scored some zingers and impressions of Gore and Bush that were very perceptive, but I'm tired of election anything. And "Dave" was smokin' - with a bass about as big as he was with an excellent sound - Dave was doing some "hot licks" with it, as much as you can with a bass. Buffy was there also, in excellent form, and that means some excellent harmonies from her and Dave on songs like Eyes of Sweet Virginia. Near the end John did a "Florida" version of Pirates of Stone County Road with an outrageous beginning that had Buffy too cracked up to do her "Henry" part with anything approaching a serious face. The finale was a great "Never Goin Back" with an intermixture of a bunch of songs from Satisfaction to Lodi to Hello Mary Lou to Jumpin Jack Flash and all points in between.

11/3/2000: The latest news from Nashville is that Nanci Griffith has recorded three of John's songs for her next album - a wide range they are: "Armstrong", "Lost Her in the Sun", and "Ghost Inside of Me". The sessions reportedly went well. Let's hope they make it onto the next CD.

The Kingston Trio has signed on to perform at the World Folk Music Assosiation tribute to John this coming January. A steller cast is coming together. See the tourdates page for more info.

11/2/2000: John is in Nashville helping Nanci Griffith with her new album. Pete & Maura Kennedy and others are there as well and from the looks of the photos at the Kennedy's website, they are having "Way Too Much Fun". Take a look: http://www.kennedysmusic.com/tourphotos.html

10/30/2000: Muldoon's Irish Pub in Newport Beach has been added to the tour schedule as a free afternoon show on Sunday Dec 10. Additional details also on the lineup for the WFMA tribute to John in January. See the tourdates page for more info.

The Penguin, the website with all things Fleetwood Mac will be hosting a Q & A with John for two weeks in November. They have additonal info about John as well as Lindsey too. Check it out at http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/

10/8/2000: Recent Bloodlines Archives are again available. Powerhouse Brewery in Sebastopol, Calif added to the upcoming tour dates. See the tourdates page for more venue information.

10/5/2000: The US version of "Wires From the Bunker" is officially released in just 5 days. Appleseed has put up an info page for "Wires" and you can now order it direct from Appleseed online.

The Bloodline Archives are temporarily unavailable but will return in the near future.

10/1/2000: John's recent performance at the 12 Bar Club was webcast. The club keeps some online archives and if you have a good enough connection you should be able to connect and enjoy. Thanks to Bob Elliot for summarizing the following instructions to get the webcast:

Go to http://www.12barclub.com

Click on the icon for "OnlineTVUK".

Click on "Band Search".

Type in "John Stewart" then click on "Go".

Click on "John Stewart" then on "Latest Music Video".

Click on "9/13/00". You then have to fill in the form and select a
username and password. The password will then be emailed to
you.

Go back to the last page and enter your username and password.
The webcast should start playing. If it doesn't, then click on
"12 Bar / 9/13/00"

9/26/00: A change in date for John's appearance at Biscuit and Blues in San Francisco - the new date is October 5th. See the tourdates page for more venue information. There may be an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that day about the show.

John's rumored appearance this Fall on the West Virginia "Mountain Stage Live" radio program has been confirmed. He's scheduled for October 29th on the nationally syndicated show. Have a look at the Mountain Stage website to find the schedule and station near you for broadcast.

9/23/2000: John and Buffy are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this month. May they have many more happy years together.

The east coast tour has started with great success, with reports that Chuck McDermott joined John, Buffy, Dave Batti and Dave Crossland at the Boston Passim's show. John has added many new songs to his set - some just written recently and some from the "Wires From the Bunker" release that he hadn't performed for many years. Buffy is performing on the east coasr for the first time in several years as her illness had prevented her from long distance travel to many shows in recent years.

9/19/2000: Have a bunch of news to catch up with here.

Here is a long overdue update from Tom DeLisle, a good friend of John and Buffy, on Buffy's medical progress:

"I talked to Buffy about her health. The most recent MRI this summer showed that there has been no new growth of the tumor near Buffy's eye, which is of course good news. Still, her condition has been an ongoing concern and she still needs various strong medications to treat the pain and the symptoms of the partial paralysis caused by the tumor.

I told her that I would ask Bloodliners who have been involved in praying for her full recovery and the shrinkage of that tumor to keep her in their special prayers. Buffy feels that the prayers have surely helped in stopping the tumor's growth and bringing her back from the distressing condition she was in about a year ago. Still, of course, when I told her that I'd ask Bloodliners to continue the prayer effort, she said "Gosh I've asked them for so much help they'll probably hate me." When I got done laughing, I assured her that our efforts in this area have been of our own accord, and eagerly offered.

So yes, please keep Buffy in your ongoing prayers. Her need has not been as critical as it once was, thank God, but it is a constant struggle for her, and she says she has felt much healing and energy from our prayers and good thoughts. And despite her concerns and discomfort, she remains singularly upbeat, positive, and funny. In fact, she will likely join John in New York when he returns from the UK for the east coast swing this weekend.

Also, though I forgot to ask her so quote me if I'm wrong, I believe she and JS will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this week." -Tom DeLisle

John has been touring the UK and appeared on several interview shows. Here's a pic from the BBC radio 2 webcam broadcast during his interview. If by chance a transcript of the interview becomes available I'll be sure and post the news and/or link here.

Thanks to Eric Johansen for this report from York on John's performance there at "Fibber's" a week ago:

Last night at Fibbers was great. The audience was reverential rather than boisterous and we all sat and quietly listened to the magic [tho' we did join in well with California Bloodlines]. A few bloodliners were there - Bob Elliot, Mark Austin, Rod Geddes and Sparkling Gillian were the ones I recognised and I introduced myself to. Paul Rybolt who was doing sterling work on the video.

We discussed the set list at the interval - none of us had done one as we were too busy enjoying ourselves.
At the end John had left his on the stage so I snaffled it. On discussion with the liners we decided that if this is a capital offence we will just say "it was Bob Elliot".

However John's list is not exactly what he played so the best guess is:
[in a very rough order]

Cheyenne
Chasing Down the Rain
Calif Bloodlines
High Flying Eagle
Freeway Pleasure
All the Words Unspoken [new and lovely]
Coal Tattoo
Looking Back Johanna trilogy [mind block here all I can remember is it was great - I think Cowboy in the Distance was part of it]
Cannons in the Rain
Molly and Long John/Let the Big Horse Run
Missouri Birds
Fields Where the Angels Dance
Strange Rivers
Eyes of Sweet Virginia
Sparkle and the Monkey Train
Homeward Looking Bird
Sweet Dreams Will Come
Slow Dance/Kansas
Night of a Distant Star
Fire in the Wind
Keeper of the Flame
Walk on the Moon
Tears of the Sun
As an encore he did a request for
Under Heavy Fire and
Mother Country

and he had opened the second set with Whiter Shade of Pale

Following his long Secret Tapes tradition of bringing something for the UK tour he had a CD available [I do not think he has issued it in US] - called "Johnny Moonlight." Andy Fergus said there was a glitch in the delivery so only 36 copies had arrived - I got the first one on general sale [I think the other 'liners already had theirs as they were in the place before the
doors opened].
Tracks are:
All the words unspoken
Cowboy in the distance
If you should remember me
Waltz of the crazy moon
All the lights
A walk on the moon
Sparkle on the monkey train
The fields where the angels dance
Timeless world
Looking back Johanna
Highway of light
---------------------------------

Thanks to a tip from Michael O in Canada, have discovered that Stewart's great song "Cadillac Ranch" from the Rough Sketches CD appears in print in Hunter Travel Guides "Adventure Guide To Texas" by Kimberly Young. The lyrics appear on pg 315. You can see the book at Amazon.com by clicking the title link above.

9/6/2000: Here you go - a very special opportunity to obtain an advance copy of "Wires From the Bunker", the US version on Appleseed directly from Appleseed if you are in the US or Canada. No overseas. People who want to order the Appleseed Release can get it for a check or money order for $17 dollars which includes shipping etc. If people also want to get the EP from Dave Crossland which is six songs (Dave is touring with John on the East Coast Gigs) you can send a check for $24 and get both. Thanks to Jim Musselman for this special offer.

Appleseed

PO Box 2593

West Chester, Pa 19380

9/5/00: I've had the pleasure of listening to an advance copy of Wires From the Bunker the past 10 days, and I still can't believe how good this album is and how it could have remained unreleased all these years. These 18 songs will knock you out. From the all out rocking "American Way" to the incredible "All The Desperate Men" to the shuffling sweetness of a Fleetwood Mac styled "It Might As Well Be Love" to the wonderfully restyled "Escape of Old John Webb", this CD will not let you down. If there was ever an album to put John back on the pop charts, this surely must be it. It will be out in the UK Sept 11 on Wrasse records, and available in the US from Appleseed on Oct 10. For now you can advance order the copy thru Amazon at a good price and a credit will go to The Cellar. The US release on Appleseed is reported to have remastered sound, although the tracks are the same songs on both versions. Here's the Wrasse release cover and tracklist:

American Way
Under Heavy Fire
Same Old Heart
When the Night Was Ours
Hot on the Trail
Molly and Tenbrooks
The Escape of Old John Webb
Molly Dee
Liddy Buck
Cheyenne
It Might As Well Be Love
Wide Eyed in Babylon
High Flying Eagle
Tears of the Sun
All the Desperate Men
Diamonds in the Coal
One Shining Day
Rockin' As the Night Rolls On

8/29/2000: The latest word is that "Wires From the Bunker" will be released on Sept 11 in the UK on Wrasse Records, although some early copies seem to have slipped out. The US release with different liner notes and possibly some slight variation on tracks and mixes will be out on Appleseed Oct 10.

I'm slowly putting up a photo gallery from the Ultimate JS weekend in Illinois this past July: http://www.folkera.com/cellar/ujsw/ujsw.htm

8/17/2000: At long last, Homecoming Records now has John's private releases of this year, "Buster" and "Way Too Much Fun" available by mailorder. Please go to the Homecoming order page to place your order.

8/16/2000: By all accounts the Trio Fantasy Camp weekend was a roaring success. Because of all the positive feedback John is thinking of doing another sometime in the future and/or possibly a John Stewart Fantasy Camp. A group of Bloodliners also went to part of the camp as the audience for the Trio performances and had a terrific time. I've posted a group of photos from the camp to give you a bit of the flavor. Thanks to Earl Ferguson for the photos. Camper George Brother has also put up a collection of photos. Check them out.

Also, thanks to Dick Valente several pics of John from the recent Loveland Colorado shows are available in the gallery.

8/8/2000: In 1979 and 1980 John was redefining the folk-rock genre with his RSO albums Bombs Away Dream Babies (1979) and Dream Babies Go Hollywood (1980). "Hollywood" was a sales disappointment, but a critical success. RSO unfortunately was going belly up as a label and John moved on. During this early 80's period however, just before the Chuck McDermott alliance John was continuing to push the folk-rock limits and creating some great music. He had an album in the works at the time "Dreams on A Shingle" that was never released, but a number of the songs would come out in later incarnations. Now, nearly 20 years later, John has secured the master tapes to some of his early 80's unreleased works. If you have ever been lucky enough to hear the original demo versions of "American Way" with Lindsey Buckingham helping John blow out the walls, and others such as "Under Heavy Fire", you know what I mean. In October, tentatively (sooner if we get real lucky), a professional release of this material (about 18 cuts) will come out on a new CD "Wires From the Bunker". Wrasse records, creator of the recent "Gold" double set will be releasing it in England and Appleseed in the US. This is a long awaited treasure trove for Stewart fans. There was a near three year gap in John's releases between "Dream Babies Go Hollywood" and "Blondes". Now at last we will hear what we were missing.

The tourdates page has new dates for the Fall in New England ... as well as West Coast dates. Sweetwater gig in Mill Valley this month.

7/16/2000: There is still time to sign up for the Fantasy Camp with Nick Reynolds and John in Arizona in August (further details are below). If anyone has questions, please contact Kristen Nielson at knielsen@asu.edu .

The initial reports coming in from Chicago are that the "Ultimate John Stewart Weekend" was everything one could hope for and more. I sure wish I could have been there. Great music, new friends, old friends, the video show, birthday parties and lots of fun.

7/8/2000: New tour dates for September in New England are on the tourdates page. John has a flyer up for the Fantasy Camp with pix of Nick Reynolds and himself - see the flyer at http://www.chillywinds.com/flyer.html

7/6/2000: For the last two weeks or so there has been a new feature in the Cellar where a song lyric of the day from the lyrics database should pop up on your screen. Regrettably, those of you with browsers earlier than a version 4.0 will not be able to see this, or you may get a JavaScript error. If you have a relatively recent browser, and you still get an error, check your settings to make sure you have not disabled JavaScript from the Advanced tab of the Preferences in your Netscape Navigator browser.

6/30/2000: Here's the latest from John on the Fantasy Camp.

IT LOOKS LIKE WERE GOING TO MAKE OUR MINIMUM NUMBER AND THE FANTASY CAMP WILL HAPPEN.

The confirmed dates are AUGUST 10,11,12, Thursday, Friday and Saturday returning home Sunday.

The FAIRMONT PRINCESS HOTEL in Scottsdale AZ. has two tournament players golf courses, three swimming pools, seven tennis courts, spa and fitness center, 7 boutiques and shops, restaurants etc. It's a beautiful place with lots to do besides all the FANTASY CAMP shows and rehearsing you'll be doing.

We're trying to decide how to work the requests to be part of the audience for the second and third nights. Second night being the night the members individual Trio's will do their concert of two songs each. The third night is when each member will get on stage and do a song with Nick Reynolds and myself.

Both shows will be video'd and each member will receive a video of their group's appearance and their individual song with me and Nick. You will get a striped shirt and we're planning other goodies. I'm bringing the Vega banjo that I played throughout my Kingston Trio years on all recordings and concert tours.

There will be time any member who wants can play the banjo in the concert hall.

The third night we'll close things off with a big group sing along.

The first night will be a short show from myself with some songs with Nick followed by slides of Kingston Trio days with Henry Diltz followed by stories plus Q&A with Nick and me.

The first night will be open to camp members only.

We will come up with a price for audience members on Friday and Saturday night as well as a price for rooms at the Princess and other hotel suggestions for those living outside the Phoenix area.

You can go to the FAIRMONT PRINCESS website at sep@fairmont.com and click Scottsdale.

The emcee for the three days will be Tom "LORDFRENCH" DeLisle.

We're getting requests from all over the country.

We can't accept any more than 27 members for this camp so don't get shut out by waiting. Your $2500 fee will have to be in by JULY 14 to be signed up and have a space. In the event you have to cancel your being there we'll have to retain $500 for our hotel and out of pocket expense and return the rest to you.

In the unforeseen event that the FANTASY CAMP itself must be canceled you will get a full refund.

I hope I see you there.

JOHN STEWART

For more info or to reserve a spot, write to John at Angelbravo@aol.com

6/24/2000: New tour dates and the latest on the Chicago weekend July 14-15 are on the tour dates page.

6/15/2000: Here's additional information from Jeff McDonald on the "Ultimate John Stewart Weekend".If you need any additional details contact Jeff at Ffriday09@AOL.COM

Here are all the details we have at this point to give you re: the John Stewart Ultimate Weekend in Lisle/Naperville, Illinois on July 14 and 15. Herein you will find out everything we can put out as of today, including how to get tickets, a general itinerary, how to book the hotel, how to get from the airport to the hotel and more. I will also attempt to answer some real and also anticipated questions with this release. So--- here goes:

WHAT: Two events, one Friday night beginning at 8:30pm (to allow those flying in plenty of time to get here) and a second Saturday night beginning at 8pm. So far this info has only gone out to Bloodlines and we have gotten great response. But Chicagoland is a BIG place so we don't yet know what the general public reaction will be. Thus, all of us (Allan and I plus John himself) would like to keep the exact structure of the evening events flexible at this time until we see how many tickets we sell. One of the following three scenarios is what will occur: (a) a concert one night and the video another night (b) half the video and a shorter concert each night (c) some other combination of same. Whichever way this goes will depend on reaction and sales from other outlets than Bloodlines (i.e.. Homecoming mailing, Folk Era mailing, articles in all three Chicago papers that we have tentative confirmation of, general public sales.) To be sure, you will see much and for sure get a concert and/or video each evening. No one will be disappointed, that's for sure!

PRICES: You have three options, but we suggest option three. Options 1 and 2: Buy a ticket for either night only at $30 per night. Option 3: A weekend pass for $50, which gets you into both nights events and saves you $10. It also gets you into other "stuff" happening on Saturday.....read on.

HOTEL: The entire event is under one roof---lodging, informal meals and events.

The hotel is the Radisson Hotel in Lisle/Naperville, Illinois. The address is 3000 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532. For reservations call 630-505-1000 and ask for (very important) "The Folk Era Weekend." Don't ask for the John Stewart Ultimate Weekend as they will be clueless......since the reservation of the facility is under Allan we have to use "Folk Era Weekend." This will get you a special reduced rate on your room which we are 98% sure will be $79 per night plus taxes.

Allan has visited the hotel and tells me it's nice, which is good enough for me. They have a restaurant, sports bar and indoor pool on premises. We will try to get some brochures from them to mail to you with your tickets/weekend pass. For those wanting the hotel fax #, it is 630-505-1165. Reservations must be made for your room through them, not Allan or I.

TRANSPORTATION: Call 1-800-851-0200. This is Air Tran Bluebird Coach lines.

You must call at least 48 hours in advance. They will need your flight number, airline, approximate time of arrival, and destination (The Radisson, which they will go to). The one way fare is $17 per person if coming into O'Hare airport and $35 per person if coming in from Midway. There is no public transportation to the hotel.

Because people are coming from all over the place at different times we were unable to arrange a shuttle from the hotel. There is a lesser charge per additional persons if more than one rides in the limo (example: Midway is $35 per person but then, IF I understood it right, $7 per person for additional people on the same limo)so get more info from them. This is the cheapest most reliable way to get there from either airport.

OTHER ACTIVITIES: All "other" activities would occur on Saturday during the day.

We hope to have a Bloodliners luncheon for anyone interested. This would be a pay by person at the time of the lunch rather than any upfront fee and is of course totally voluntary. ATTENTION WOULD BE PICKERS: There will be an informal, free group sing and pick session Saturday afternoon. There will be a questionnaire you will get when I send you your tickets for anyone interested in participating. The general idea is for all of us would-be pickers/singers to spend about two hours playing spontaneously JS and JS related (i.e. Trio/Cumberland 3, etc) songs. No amps, no mics, just a fun two hours of pickin and grinnin. You'll be asked if you are interested to name at least one song you'd like to lead in the group sing and I'll attempt to bring a crude lead sheet (words and chords) for the songs. To answer the question I can already see some of you formulating: no, John probably will not be in attendance, so please don't count on it and we can all be delighted if he does.

This is strictly being planned for the fun of it for all of us closet JS imitators. There may or may not be a silent auction----we would love to hear your thoughts on that and certainly would be interested in any donations. Any proceeds from the auction will go to Buffy's fund, as will proceeds from the two shows. IF we sell out both nights and have to do an afternoon show Saturday to handle the general public demand, then we'll do the sing in the morning Saturday.

HOW TO GET TICKETS: Please follow these instructions exactly. Send your check or money order, made out to Jeff McDonald, to: Jeff McDonald, 159 West Second Street, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601. Please send a self-addressed envelope (letter size so I can put the hotel brochure in it) and I'll send your tickets back to you. You will get either a color coded pass for each individual night ($30 per night, per person) or send $50 per person and indicate you want the weekend pass and you'll get a different color pass for the whole weekend. The pass/ticket will also be a name badge (you'll get the name badge jacket at the door of Friday nights event) and that will get you into all activities. When you send the check please put in a note with the names of all those who will be attending and I will make the name badge/ticket/pass out for you ahead of time. If you want your Bloodlines nickname also on the badge, let me know when you send in the ticket request. I will need to receive all ticket orders by no later than Friday, July 7th. If you have questions not answered here, backchannel me or, if necessary, I can be reached most evenings at 740-774-9295. Sorry, no credit cards.

OTHER STUFF: Yes, Allan will have lots of product for sale, both JS and hopefully some newly to-be-released KT material (not newly recorded, but newly released). No, unfortunately Buffy will very likely not be attending as airline travel, especially in hot, humid weather, is hard on her at the moment. Not sure: whether Dave will be coming or not at this point. If not, will someone please volunteer to iron John's shirts? We'll keep you Dave lovers posted. No, Nick will not be attending either. Yes, Kids are definitely welcome but, sorry, we can't offer discounted rates except for babies, who could of course get in free.

I hope this answers all the many questions. The final thing I will ask is that you fill out the questionnaire you will get with your tickets and that you remember that all of this is being planned for two reasons: (a) a good time for you and those you bring along and (b) to help raise money for Buffy's fund. She is going in for an MRI soon so please keep channeling those positive thoughts her way. I truly can tell you that both John and Buffy are overwhelmed by the love and support they have received since their ordeal began from our family of Bloodliners. It's Allan's and my sincere hope that after The Ultimate John Stewart Weekend is over we will have continued to show that love and loyalty from the Midwestern contingent! We want this to be a weekend mini vacation that not only you will never forget, but also one John will look back on as a great time for him personally.

So---- send in your self addressed envelope and checks, make your travel plans, and get out those striped shirts---I'll supply a big magic marker that I'm pretty sure we can get John to use to autograph your KT look-alike apparel with. This is gonna be FUN! ---Jeff--

6/12/2000: Thanks to Ken Smith for providing two nice reviews of John's shows this past weekend in Colorado. John Stewart in Colorado

6/6/2000: Trio Fantasy Camp Spend some time with Nick and John and play in the Trio. Here's a message from John about a Fantasy Camp he and Nick Reynolds plan for this summer:

NICK REYNOLDS AND I ARE PLANNING A "TRIO" FANTASY CAMP TO BE HELD IN AUGUST IN PHOENIX AZ. WE'LL ACCEPT 27 PEOPLE WHO WILL ALL STAY AT A SCOTTSDALE HOTEL WHERE ON THE FIRST DAY WE'LL MEET EACH OTHER AND DIVIDE INTO NINE TRIOS. THE GROUPS WILL WORK UNTIL THE FOLLOWING NIGHT TO REHEARSE THREE KINGSTON TRIO OR OTHER FOLK SONGS OF YOUR CHOOSING TO PLAY ON STAGE THE SECOND NIGHT.

THE FIRST NIGHT WE'LL HAVE Q&A WITH THE GROUP ALONG WITH SLIDES OF THE KINGSTON TRIO WITH HENRY DILTZ PLUS GUEST SPEAKERS TO JOIN IN THE Q&A AND STORIES ABOUT THE HAY DAYS OF FOLK.

THE THIRD DAY YOU WILL BE GIVEN A LIST OF KINGSTON TRIO SONGS FROM WHICH YOU CHOOSE THE ONE YOU WANT TO LEARN. THAT NIGHT WE'LL HAVE A CONCERT WHERE EACH MEMBER OF THE GROUP CAN SING WITH NICK AND I AND BE "ONE OF THE TRIO"

EVERYONE WILL BE GIVEN A STRIPED SHIRT AND VIDEO OF YOUR GROUPS PERFORMANCE AND YOUR SONG WITH NICK AND ME.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT TO PARTICIPATE OR EVEN IF YOU JUST WANT TO SIT AND WATCH YOU CAN. WOMEN ARE OF COURSE WELCOME TO PERFORM IN ALL THE EVENTS.

YOU'LL GET YOUR ROOM, MOST WILL DOUBLE UP TO KEEP THE BONDING AND REHEARSING

IN FOCUS. IF YOU WANT YOUR OWN ROOM IT WILL BE A LITTLE EXTRA. YOU'LL ALSO GET HELP WITH YOUR TRANSPORTATION FROM ONE OF THE STAFF.

THE PRICE WILL BE $2,500. PER PERSON. FOR THOSE WHO KNOW ABOUT FANTASY CAMPS THIS IS ON THE LOW END FOR THIS KIND OF CAMP.

THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED LET ME KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN SECURE THE DATES AND GET GOING ON THE FUN.

POOR BOY A WELLA

JS

email John at Angelbravo@aol.com if you think you'd like to go or want more information

6/5/2000: Nick Reynolds joined John and Buffy at McCabe's on Saturday for a show that fans are raving about and will be for years. Nick, ever the cutup had the audience in stitches. Henry Diltz also dropped by to take photos (he took many classic photos of John such as the Wingless Angels and California Bloodlines covers). Henry had been a member of the MFQ also, and joined the group onstage for Daydream Believer.

6/2/2000: It is being billed as the "Ultimate John Stewart Weekend". Jeff McDonald is helping organize the event with Allan Shaw and others. Jeff will be on vacation until June 12, but you should write to Jeff at Ffriday09@AOL.COM to let him know if you are interested and for further details. Here's the scoop at present: "The Ultimate John Stewart Weekend" will take place July 14 and 15 in Lisle, Illinois, about an hour outside of Chicago and easy access from O'Hare airport. --suggest you fly into OHare instead of Midway unless the difference in fare from your city is hugely different as public transportation from Midway to Lisle is difficult and from OHare should be a snap, especially if we can get a shuttle. Save your dollars, by the way, gang-----not only will we have all this going on but lots of cool stuff to buy from both John and Folk Era. Allan Shaw at Folk Era is the main event sponsor with myself and hopefully several other "local" recruits assisting to help put the show on. All the exact details have yet to be ironed out but we wanted to get this out to you now so those needing airline reservations could get the best rates. First and foremost, this is part of the continuing effort to raise money for the Buffy Fund. What is different is that we are trying to put this together as a mini-vacation weekend. So here's what we can tell you so far: there will be an "event" both Friday and Saturday night. The famous video will be shown and there will also be a concert by John. We don't have ironed out which night which will occur yet, but there will be a video showing and a John concert for sure. We are tentatively planning a silent auction and of course Allan will be there with all the great products too that Folk Era provides.

There are several other very cool things that we are working on, but can't promise or discuss at this point. At the very least there will be some kind of social activity for Bloodliners Saturday afternoon--- we are hoping for much more than that, but again will not have details for awhile. The entire event will occur at a very nice hotel, so you can see both shows and stay at the same place, which has a pool, nice dining, etc. In otherwords, to put it in the 1960's vernacular, this is "a happening." You will be able to buy separate tickets but there will be a package price for both shows. A lot depends on how many people come and details still to be worked out with John.

So----if this all sounds too incredible to pass up, we need to know (now that there are dates and a place) about how many people might attend. As far as prices that is still in the works and also to some degree depends on how many people come, as the more that stay there the better the room rate. Tickets for the show will be in the ball park of what you usually pay and we are hopeful of being about $79 per night for the rooms (cheap for the amenities and Chicagoland)---again, no exact price available yet, but this will give you a ballpark idea. If you think you'll be attending, please send that to me as a reply to Ffriday09@AOL.COM . The whole family including kids are welcome to attend. You don't need to be a "Bloodliner". A love of John's music is the only qualification that you might consider.

5/29/2000: If you have never heard Tom DeLisle tell stories about Andy Fergus and his John Stewart quest, you MUST check out the latest addition to LordFrench's tales, "Too Good For the Pooblic".

5/22/2000: Looking to fill those holes in your collection? Here's a convenient order form to get some of those recordings you may have missed. You can order them directly from John's Homecoming Records.

5/18/2000: Last Friday's show at the Palms was another treasure. This show was just John solo. Although jet-lagged from the Dalry trip and only home for two days, John was strong and clear voiced and energized. The show was much more than I could have expected. We had news that there will be a release of "Havana" on CD, and it will include some of John's recent songs, plus "That Lucky Old Sun" a gem of an old tune that John puts an indescribable touch to that makes the song his own. It was one of the highlights of the show for me. The show ended with the most lovely, indescribably touching version of "Children of the Morning" that you could imagine. All I can say is that if you can get yourself to a show, get there. There is nothing like it. Here's the setlist:

1. The Last Hurrah

2. High Flying Eagle (written 1967 but on the new Buster CD)

3. Chilly Winds

4. Cooler Water, Higher Ground

5. Little Road and a Stone to Roll

6. The Field Where the Angels Dance (a new song on Buster)

7. Strange Rivers

8. A Walk on the Moon (also on The Buster, new song)

9. Shadows of the Angel's Wings

Intermission

10. Johnny Flamingo on the Blue Dream Road

11. Eyes of Sweet Virginia

12. "Virginia". A "lost song" of John's that should appear on the Havana CD

13. Let the Big Horse Run

14. Runaway Fool of Love

15. Cowboy in the Distance (on Buster and Way Too Much Fun)

16. Meteor Man (on Buster)

17. Fire in the Wind

18. July You're a Woman

19. That Lucky Ol' Sun

20. Anna on a Memory

21. Take Her Out of Pity

22. Reason to Rise

23. The River

24. Ticket to the Stars

25. The Times They are a'changing

26. Mother Country

Encore:

27. Star in the Black Sky Shining

28. Children of the Morning

5/7/2000: Fans report the shows at the Turf Inn the last three nights were superb. Some of the shows were filmed and a video release is hoped for in the future.

John will be appearing at the Villa Montalvo in San Jose on Nov 5th with Roy Rogers (the bluesman) and Shana Morrison (daughter of Van). Info and links on tour page

5/1/2000: Reports from Ireland are that the gigs with Nick Reynolds were a surprise for many in attendance and a genuine treat. For a quick preview of photos from the shows this past weekend, with John, Buffy, Nick and Odetta, this link will take you there: http://www.sonic.net/~roadman/bloodnotes/kk4-00/ 

4/28/2000: John has put together a special CD for sale at shows on the UK/Ireland tour. "Buster" features a mix of recent recordings, including his newest, the amazing "Walk on the Moon", as well as some previously unreleased gems from the early 80's that have lain in the vault. There is no word as yet if this will be available in any quantity in the US after the tour, so grab this quick if it is available at a show. Here's the lineup for "Buster":

1. Field Where the Angels Dance

2. Meteor Man

3. High Flying Eagle

4. A Walk on the Moon

5. Renegade Rising

6. Cowboy in the Distance

7. The Dilly Monkeys

8. Waltz of the Crazy Moon

9. Wide Eyed in Babylon

10 Endless Roads and Northern Lights

4/27/2000: John & Buffy are on their way to Ireland for shows beginning 4/29, and then on to Scotland. John plans to have part of the tour filmed as well as interviews with Nick Reynolds reminiscing on the Trio days.

If anyone has a video copy of the interview Dave Guard did on PBS shortly before his death please contact me at REBeffa@aol.com

I have received many inquiries from those who want to help financially towards Buffy's medical bills. For those who wish to make a contribution to help Buffy, please send a check made out to Buffy Stewart   ... with the notation "Buffy Fund" at the bottom (memo) line of the check. Checks can be sent to: The Buffy Fund 936 B 7th St PMB309 Novato, CA 94945

4/19/2000: There's a chance a Sunday May 7th show may be added to the schedule for the Turf Inn, Dalry, Scotland. Better yet, from my view here in California, there is a show on May 12th at the Palms in Davis, followed by a Memorial Day weekend show May 28th at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. Other tour dates on the tour page.

4/13/00: Buffy's surgery took a little longer than expected, but went well. She spent a couple days in the hospital, with John sleeping on the floor of her room because no cot was available. Family friend Tom DeLisle talked to Buffy today and reports as follows: "Talked with Buffy just a bit ago. She is coming along very well; expects to be up and around by early next week. For the first time in three years, she is not wearing an eyepatch. The vision in the eye is still shaky -- double-vision and blurriness. She will be wearing the patch for the UK tour, but following the next surgery, after returning, she's hoping she will finally regain full usage of the eye.

Buffy added that the effect of the most recent surgery--cutting and strengthening and lifting the muscles around the eye, was similar to a face-lift procedure. And that John told her that she "looks 12 years old" following the procedure. She also reports that JS has been doing a sterling job of house-husbandry during her recovery, and that he is especially good at taking the garbage out AND driving the kids to soccer practice, even though they don't have any kids who live at home, much less play soccer.

She said "Tell the Bloodliners I don't know what I'd do without them. I can feel their prayers every day, and I pray for THEM every day too. I'm just so lucky to have them, please thank them for everything."

4/6/2000 : Tom DeLisle reports: "Talked to JS this afternoon, and Buffy will have the first of two corrective eye surgeries tomorrow at 11 a.m. Pacific time.

The second surgery, the insertion of a "pillow" behind the eye, will not take place until after the UK tour, so Buffy will still go with a patch, but let's hope and pray it won't be long after that she is patchless. I think she stays overnight in the hospital tomorrow, and then home.

They will be cutting tissue around the affected eye--apparently tightening muscles and lifting her eyelid. The partial paralysis from her tumor and surgeries have both affected her vision and caused some sagging on that side of her face. This is a major step on her way back from that.

John says she is very enthusiastic and 'good to go' for tomorrow's surgery, and I asked him to tell her that the 'Liners are behind her in thought and prayer. We've all come this far together, and this will be another key step in getting Peep back to 100%. ("Peep" being an old nickname for Buffy, and for the life of me I can't recall how she got it, but it still fits her.)"

4/4/2000: A Buffy update. Tom DeLisle spoke to Buffy several nights ago and reports the following: "Talked to Buffy tonight, and she sounded in good spirits back in NorCal.

She has two corrective surgeries scheduled for the early part of April. On April 7 she will undergo work to cut and lift the muscles around her affected eye; paralysis in that area has caused a sagging of the muscles there. Three days later she will have work on the eye socket, with the insertion of what she called a "pillow" to strengthen the area.

Her hope is to be able to go on the Ireland/Scotland trip without having to wear an eyepatch for the first time in years. So for those so inclined, let's keep Buffy in our prayers and healing-energy thoughts for those two surgeries, and for the achievement of that long-awaited goal.

As always, she passes along emotional gratitude for the continuing support of the Bloodliners during her long difficulty. She says she can "feel" that support and strength coming from the group... "

--------------

The fundraiser for Buffy in Media, PA on the 1st of April was a great success, raising well over $5,000 for the Buffy fund. There is talk of one more possible showing of the fantastic video presentation of John's career from the Cumberland Three, with the Kingston Trio and solo... in Chicago this summer. If it comes to pass, the news will certainly be posted here. Rosanne Cash was the hostess for the presentation and I have heard nothing but raves for this show.

4/2/2000: Those who attended the Club Passim show on March 24 had a great bonus. Chuck McDermott joined John for the show, reprising the great era of music they created together in the early 80's. One of many highlights of the show was reported to be their duet of "Eyes of Sweet Virginia" as well as Chuck on "All the Desperate Men". Here, thanks again to the Roadman, is a delightful photo of the pair onstage at Club Passim.

3/30/2000- Tickets are on sale for Colorado concert details on tourdates page.

Reminder! April 1st The fundraiser for Buffy, a John Stewart career retrospective video presentation at Penn State hosted by Rosanne Cash is on April 1st- with a possible appearance by John also. I absolutely guarantee that this is a show not to be missed. When I saw this show last year it knocked me out. This is only the third and quite possibly the last showing of this career spanning retrospective that begins with The Cumberland Three, through the Stewart Trio years and into John's solo career. This IS NOT going to be released on a home video - special arrangements have been made to show this material gathered from many sources, and this is probably the only chance you will have to see this amazing material. More details and how to get your tickets can be found at Ben Blake's new website: Old Ben's Music . There are only a few tickets left. Do not miss this. There is also going to be an auction at the benefit of rare and collectible Kingston Trio and Stewart items.

3/24/00: Courtesy of the Roadman, here's an outstanding photo of John with Dave Batti from last night's show at The Turning Point in NY:

3/23/00: Early reports from New York were that John's shows at the Bottom Line in New York City with Eric Anderson were top of the line. Here's a setlist of the shows (my thanks go to Stingboy for reporting the setlist to Bloodlines):

First show:

Ticket to the Stars

Always Young

Strange Rivers

July You're a Woman

Who Stole the Soul of Johnny Dreams?

Cowboy in the Distance

Anna on a Memory

Lost Her in the Sun

Long Train of Dreams

Eyes of Sweet Virginia/Freeway Pleasure

Walk on the Moon

I Remember America

The American Way

Star in the Black Star Shining

Mother Country

Second show:

Dreamers on the Rise

She Believes in Me

Lucky Ol' Sun (Yes, believe it or not, that classic Frankie Laine gem)

July, You're a Woman

Fire in the Wind

Blonde Star

Shadows of the Angels' Wings

Chilly Winds

Cooler Water, Higher Ground

Razorback Woman

Johnny Flamingo on the Blue Dream Road

Hearts and Dreams on the Line

Josie

Field Where the Angels Dance

Walk on the Moon

Rivers of Light

Daydream Believer/Reasons to Rise

3/17/2000: New tour dates for California and Arizona in May and June: tourdates

3/15/2000: I was tipped off to a Stewart reference in a song by country artist Chris Wall. His 1998 album "Tainted Angel" has a nice song called "Three Across" which includes a nod of the hat to Stewart - here's an excerpt from the lyrics:

" Watchin' Gator at the drive-in Bo and Luke on the t.v. Some Old Lonesome Picker singing "July You're A Woman" to me.

Drivin' out to the lake and knockin' us back a few and feeling my heart break as I wonder what to do what to do Turn up that radio play it long and loud sing the blues down low should I stay or should I go

I can't recall the countless times I tried to leave this town ran smack into some homesick headwind that slapped me in the face and turned me back around

We're still three across in this pickup truck and I guess we always will all for one and one for three her for him and what's left for me "

The song for some reason reminds me a slight bit of the Mary Chapin Carpenter song "I'll Take My Chances" from the Come On, Come On album. Maybe it is just the guitars....

Anyway, if you get a chance, have a listen to the song. It'll put a smile on your face. My thanks to Matt Carava for the tip. 

3/7/2000: A special 41 song 2 CD career spanning retrospective titled "Gold" has been released on Wrasse records in the UK. It is only available as an import. Details on the songs in the release are in the discography. This is the only release that contains cuts from "Fire in the Wind" which has never been released on CD. You can purchase this by following this link to  "Gold" at Amazon.com through the Cellar and a portion of the sale is credited to the Cellar. Better yet, you can help support John and Dave Batti by ordering through Homecoming Records at the special price of $30 plus $3 shipping to: Homecoming Records, PO Box 2050, Malibu, CA 90265 (CA residents add 8 1/2% sales tax)

2/29/2000: One trick to staying forever young is to only have a birthday once every four years. Today, leap day, is Buffy Stewart's birthday. Happy Birthday Buffy!

2/24/2000: Nick Reynolds will be joining John on the Spring tour to Ireland and Scotland. Very tentative dates are April 29-30 at the Kilkenney Roots Festival (possibly with Odetta also) and May 4-6 at the Turf Inn, Dalry Scotland. The latest info will always be on the tourdates page.

2/22/2000: The "home page" for the Cellar is changing. Please change your bookmark/favorites to the following: http://members.aol.com/clackclack/

The February 5, 2000 show in Santa Cruz was one of those great ones. For my review of the show and photos, John Stewart at the Kuumbwa

2/16/2000: I have good news for those of you on the East Coast. Last year there were two special screenings on the West Coast of an amazing collection of videos of the Cumberland Three, the Kingston Trio and John Stewart. This show received absolute raves from all who were lucky enough to see the shows. Ben Blake is helping to organize a special showing of this video collection as a fund raiser for Buffy's medical expenses. This special showing will be hosted by Rosanne Cash. It is being held April 1, 2000 at the Penn State Campus in Media, Penn (near Philadelphia). More details and how to get your tickets can be found at Ben Blake's new website: Old Ben's Music I cannot recommend this showing highly enough and it is for a great cause to boot. There will also be an auction there of some special Trio and John Stewart items.

2/14/2000: For all of you  who have been patiently waiting for the new CD of the June and December 99 McCabe's concerts, John began to ship the back orders today and expects to have them all out within the week. The new CD, "Way Too Much Fun - Live at McCabe's" captures John, Buffy and Dave at their best. This CD is a mix of songs and between song jokes and routines that you can only get at a live show and are usually cut out when the final mix is done. There is an amazing cut, "Under Heavy Fire", a previously unreleased Stewart song that really rocks, and another gem, my current concert favorite "Cowboy in the Distance"as well as other surprises. If you want to be among the first to hear this new CD you can order it directly from John. Also available is the recent Rocket Roy Plus, a mixture of songs taken from the Rocket Roy and Escape to Arizona tapes as well as new songs like the great "Long Train of Dreams" and "Rivers of Light". Each CD is $20, plus $4 shipping for one, or $6 for two CD's. You can send your order to John at: Neon Dreams,  936 B 7th St, PMB309,   Novato, CA 94945.

2/10/2000: It is with a great deal of pleasure that I announce the release of the John Stewart lyrics database. This project has been in the works for about a year and a half and we can thank the hard work of Tim Riley, Mark Austin, the Big Guy himself, and the many contributors and helpers to this project. The lyrics database

2/3/2000: Not yet ready for prime time, but you can have a sneak preview of photos I took of Stewart's performance at the Palms on January 8. Web pages are still under construction.

Those of you who have been patiently waiting for your "Live at McCabe's" Cd that you direct ordered from John should be rewarded in the near future. John says he should have the CD in about a week and the back orders for this and Rocket Roy should start going out soon after.

UK and Ireland tour still in the works. Details will be posted as soon as confirmed. Looks like Dalry first or second week of May.

1/21/2000: A message from Buffy:

"Beloved Bloodliners,

Thank you so much for the beautiful book you gave to me for Christmas. I am enjoying it very much. What a thoughtful gift. I also want to thank you for the generous donation for the Buffy fund and for all your fund raiser gifts. I would like to thank all of you who have sent donations for my medical fund. I am overwhelmed by all of your prayers and love and financial support. I plan to thank each of you personally, but until I can, I want to thank you now. I love you and feel so very blessed to have you in my life. John and I both are deeply grateful. I would like to give you a health update. My most recent MRI showed that the swelling was down. They think the tumor is smaller, but it is hard to tell whether it was swelling or the tumor. I am still taking alot of medication for my head and face pain. It seems that there is permanent radiation damage to the facial nerve. My next MRI, is next month Hopefully this will show that the tumor is shrinking. I am feeling better though, and I know it is because of all the prayers. Prayer is amazing It is very real. I can FEEL the prayers. Great peace fills my entire being. You are all in my prayers every day. Endless love Endless thanks. Buffy "

1/20/2000: Need a working man's tour of Stewart's Malibu? And part of the story behind the song "Gold"?  Read about it in Tales of the French Lord

1/14/2000: John came down with the flu/cold bug that everyone is getting and cannot travel back to Washington for a performance at the WFMA benefit this weekend.

1/9/2000: I talked to Buffy last night. She looks good and hopefully is still on the slow and steady path of improvement that began late this summer. She has another MRI coming up in a week or two, and that is a precursor to a planned procedure in February to try and correct the double vision she has in her left eye. She is optimistic and is very appreciative of the support that fans have given to her.  

John will be playing in Santa Cruz on February 5.

1/6/2000: I received a note that on folk radio station WUMB 91.9 in Boston, John is scheduled to appear on Tent Show Radio on Thursday, January 13. Time is 8 PM Eastern. If you have a Win amp computer tuner you may be able to listen to the broadcast over the internet. Check out details at www.wumb.org, or www.bostondial.com

It is with great sadness that I bear the news of the untimely passing of a longtime Stewart fan, and wonderful person to boot, Sue Krebs. Sue passed away on December 28. Sue was one of the very first "online" Stewart fans I met back in 95. She could often be found grabbing an early seat in a booth and settling in with a book at Stewart's Sweetwater shows in Mill Valley. She was a sweet person, with a ready smile and always a kind word. She will be missed.

12/29/99: Chuck's Cellar was the great music club from which Clack's Cellar borrows it's name. But alas, poor Chuck's, it has fallen on hard times - you can read about the sad state in this article in Los Altos. I enjoyed the remark about bringing back the Kingston Trio and the Limelighters. 

The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley" made the list as one of NPR's most influential songs of the century. Although there are a few questionable songs on the list, and more than a few omissions, it is hard to deny the Trio's place.

John's "Daydream Believer" made the list (with more of those questionable entries....) on BMI's list of the top 100 songs of the century. Check out #65 at BMI News

Everything you ever wanted to know and a lot you never dreamed of I am sure, about Tom Dooley

12/22/99: I'd like to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season. Thanks for all the comments and feedback sent throughout the year. The Cellar is here for you to enjoy - you are all a a part of it. -Ron

An entertaining article about the influence of John Stewart music on a columnist's life appeared in the San Diego Tribune on Dec 16th. You can read it here: Love of music

And now for the latest update on Buffy: Tom DeLisle reports: "Overall, the news is good on Buffy. Her MRI indicates that her swelling behind her eye (be it from a tumor or a swollen reaction to the laser surgery; that still is uncertain and may be yet for awhile) IS receding. That is THE priority result and what we've been hoping and praying for. As Buffy said, "Honey, the prayers are working."

The news from her brain surgeon, at the same time, was discouraging in that he thinks that the gamma ray surgery she underwent to remove the original tumor might have done irreparable damage to the nerves behind her eye that were adjoining the tumor. If this is the case (and it is all still conjecture, only time will tell), it dampens her hopes to relieve the paralysis in her face, and get her sight and hearing back. She had hoped, even, to appear in Phoenix on New Year's Eve minus her eye patch, but the removal of that will have to wait a while longer.

Now, before going into it further, I took the liberty of speaking for all of us who are pulling and praying for her in saying that we would now concentrate our prayers and energy and positive thoughts into fixing those damn nerves. Buffy was reluctant to ask for further help, feeling (understandably) embarrassed and said "I owe the Bloodliners so much, I could never ask them to help any more." I told her we understand that perfectly and can now begin concentrating on those nerves and will not miss a beat in continuing our "vigil" with her until we get this all straightened out.

One of the reasons she and John feel a letdown in the results is that they had advance word from a friendly (and 'unofficial' in that your doctor is the final word) radiologist that indeed the swelling/tumor had gone down, and went to see the surgeon yesterday with some optimism. And, again, while the major news is positive, the word about the damaged nerves threw some cold water on her hopes for a fairly quick and complete recovery.

I told her it will come, we will continue to help, and that March seems a good time to find out that the nerves are regenerating themselves. I really think we can do that.

I could tell she was a little down tonight, as was John (though recognizing that the recession of the swelling is major news.) Buffy even apologized for being a bit lower-keyed than normal (she is never glum or negative), and said--as is her style--"But you have to have some bad days to really appreciate the good ones, so it's okay."

As we all know, she has been terrific through all of this.

For the record, a few items: The laser surgery is so new that these kinds of reactions are not fully understood yet. But, the gamma surgery was the right thing at the time to deal with a very dangerous tumor. Also, the surgeon who 'invented' the gamma surgery maintains that it will NOT do lasting damage to other tissue. But J&B's surgeon said, basically, that in analyzing these kind of touchy cases you can talk to ten surgeons and get ten opinions/predictions concerning prognosis.

So, ...

Those of you who have helped so far, please continue, and zone in on the nerves behind Buffy's left eye. Pray, or send energy, in whatever form you wish. There are many of us who actively now believe in the healing power of  the mind, especially collected minds. I will say, briefly, that I recently learned of a method of energy power that really does work, and know of cases--some close to home--where it has been very successful. It involves the concentrated mental effort of sending a pinpoint of light to a person, mentally moving that light into the part of the body that needs healing, and visualizing a strong aura of healing white light all around it. I know to some of you that may sound crazy; but more importantly, I know that some of you are ahead of me, already saying 'Yeah, I'm hip ... I know about that ... It DOES work.'

Whatever form it takes, please do what you can. I'm confident we can continue to move this thing in the right direction. Remember, she is already so much better than she was just a few months ago. We'll just keep up the effort." - Tom DeLisle

12/20/99: John and Buffy's friend Tom DeLisle is one funny guy. And he knows a heck of a lot about John. Probably more than John knows about John. I'm going to put together some of Tom's stories and memories for all to enjoy. Here's the start: Tales of the French Lord

John highly recommends the Discovery Channel two hour documentary on the recovery of Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 space capsule from the Atlantic floor. It will be re-shown at various times on the Discovery Channel over the next couple weeks. It is a terrific show for anyone interested in the history of the space program, packs a lot of goosebump moments, and features great insights from JS's astronaut friend Scott Carpenter.

12/15/99: An update on Buffy - John and Buffy's good friend Tom DeLisle reports the following: "Talked to Buffy and John tonight, and Buffy will be going in Thursday morning for an important MRI test. Those of us who have been involved in praying for her to beat her medical emergency in recent months might want to send prayers, good thoughts, healing energy Buffy's way Thursday, when she has the MRI at 11 a.m. Pacific time.

There is no guarantee what the MRI will indicate, if anything conclusive. As you know, this test was put off for several months because of Buffy's bad headaches and continuing pain and paralysis in her face. The optimum here, now that she has stabilized to some degree in the past couple of months, would be that the swelling of her brain is now receding and she is on her way back to normal. (You will recall the swelling was likely the result of last winter's laser surgery--the problem was that the resultant swelling caused problems similar to, and sometimes exceeding, the symptoms from the tumor that was removed, pressing and trapping nerves behind her eye.)

She still has frequent pain, but she is certainly in a better state than she was last summer when things were very difficult. Send some good stuff her way, visualize the disappearance of that swelling behind her eye, and she can make important strides towards that full recovery that is on the way. And stay tuned here for information.

Another cool thing--Buffy will see a specialist tomorrow about the chances of possibly restoring proper vision and tone to her damaged eye. The paralysis on the side of her face and resultant double vision have had her wearing her eyepatch for many months now. She and John said the goal is to have her eyepatchless by the New Year, and let's keep our fingers crossed for that also. Keep the miracles coming."

12/12/99: Here is a review of what sounds like a knockout show and several photos at John's 12/4/99 gig at McCabe's

12/9/99: Stewart's first gig of the new year has been scheduled for January 8th at The Palms in Davis, California. The Palms is a small, intimate venue that is a great place to catch a show. Make it if you can.

12/2/99: Tonight, in Scottsdale, Arizona, Nick Reynolds played his last regular gig with the Kingston Trio. Nick originally left the Trio the same night that John did, in San Francisco, on June 17, 1967, at the end of a two week farewell stand at The Hungry i. That was the end of the second generation of the Trio. Both John and Nick wanted to move on to different pursuits - Nick to hobbies and farming in Oregon, John on to what would become his distinguished solo career. Bob Shane was the sole member who wanted to keep the Kingston Trio and their sound alive. Since that time he has fronted various combinations of members of the Kingston Trio, most notably with George Grove for many many years. Nick Reynolds rejoined the Trio over a decade ago, in 1988, following the untimely death of Roger Gambill, who with Bob Shane and George Grove represented one of the more popular later generations of the Kingston Trio. But the last couple years, age and hip operations have been slowing Nick down and he is retiring from regular touring with the Kingston Trio. Bob Haworth, who played in the Trio before Nick rejoined, will be coming back. He has, in fact, been filling in some of the recent gigs already in Nick's absence, and the word is that he brings a fresh sound to the Trio. Long may they run. Two photos from Nick's last show are available for viewing at the Roadman's gallery at http://www.sonic.net/roadman/bloodnotes/trio12-99

John plays McCabe's in Santa Monica Saturday the 4th, and there will surely be many fans present for the two shows, which are always sellouts. No later gigs planned at the moment until the New Year's Eve show in Phoenix. Details on the tour dates page.

I've added a few more cover songs to the Stewart discography section. If you have any CD's or albums where other artists have recorded one or more of John Stewart's songs, please let me know so I can add them to the list. 

11/11/99: There was a terrific article on Stewart and Seattle Sonics coach Paul Westphal who co-wrote a tune - A Woman Rides the Beast - in the 11/9/99 Tacoma (WA) News Tribune. Thanks to writer Don Ruiz the Cellar has the article as well as highlights from the interview transcripts with Stewart and Westphal. Take a look at the Sonic Songwriter.

John advises that he is having a "Live at McCabe's" show from this summer (June, I think) as well as the Buffy Christmas CD with three new songs and new cover, and also Rocket Roy Plus being produced commercially for distribution soon. I'll put a note here as soon as details for purchase are available. Also , a few months after will be a CD release of the "Savannah" cassette album 

Nick Reynolds is scheduled to play several songs on November 21st at a benefit for a foundation connected with the Clancy Brothers at Lincoln Center in New York. John confirms that he plans to appear with Nick to play two or three songs at the show.

11/6/99:   Buffy continues to be on the positive path for improvement. Her recovery from the awful and debilitating pain of a couple months ago has been steady and promising. She said, however, that if she misses a dosage of her painkilling medicine and drug treatment, she does relapse into bigtime pain. But the difference is remarkable compared to her nightmarish pain and disorientation of this summer. In the long run, the docs are just waiting to see when the swelling in her head will recede and stop pressing against the nerves around her eye.

John said Buffy did get state-granted emergency insurance coverage in October and she will be covered if she should require another surgery. If she keeps up the slow and steady progress, we can all hope that she will not need any more surgery.

The next issue of the Finger should be mailed out within a week or so.

10/22/99: John will be playing New Year's Eve in Phoenix ... not exactly Phoenix Concerts 2 ... but the John Stewart "millennium" concert will take place New Year's Eve at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix , Arizona with Jerry Riopelle. I've been advised that Stewart did many knockout New Year's concerts there in the past. Details about the show venue on the tour page

10/21/99: Reports are that Buffy continues to be doing better. She recently attended a friend's wedding and sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Let's hope this positive path continues.

And some really exciting news ... not exactly Phoenix Concerts 2 ... yet ... but the John Stewart "millennium" concert is shaping up to take place New Year's Eve at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix ,Arizona with Jerry Riopelle opening. I've been advised that Stewart did many knockout New Year's concert there in the past, and some folks can't think of a better way to see the next century begin.   

10/10/99: The start of a new addition to the Cellar ... "Blasts from the past" pages full of memorabilia from the Trio and Stewart's long career.

10/4/99: October 4, is the tenth anniversary of the death of Secretariat, one of the greatest racehorses of all time and the subject of John Stewart's song, "Let the Big Horse Run."

9/28/99: I saw and talked to Buffy on Sunday night. I am happy to report that her improvement continues and is real. She is walking much better, and as always, is full of that spirit and charm. Her medicine is spaced out to 5 hour intervals, an improvement over the prior every three hour routine, and she says she has finally reached a place where the medicine keeps her free of pain. It was so good to see her doing better - she's a miracle girl. Please keep those positive thoughts going for Buffy. She said many times how much it helps her knowing we are here for her.

The show at the Sweetwater was good. I don't think John's heart was really in the gig at first - and who could blame him for all he has been through the past two years with Buffy - but after about 4 songs, when he played July of all things, I could sense him coming back in focus, (the performance is like medicine to him methinks) and he put on a pretty decent show - he was playing so many old and seldom played treasures; "Spinning of the World", "Under Heavy Fire", "The Wind Dies Down" was REALLY good - and Buffy's mom was in attendance and Mother out Law was singing along to "All Time Woman" after John had been teasing with her from the stage. There were a number of good moments like that through the night. There was a request for Silver Wings (on the new Darwin's Army release)- The song got a very good response, but I thought it a little lackluster (I like the CD version much better) - and maybe Buffy thought so too, 'cause as soon as the song was over she said to the audience "Wasn't that HORRIBLE" or something like that. Of course people assured her it wasn't (which was quite true), but compared to Buffy's other shining songs of the night like "Across the Milky Way" and "Bringing Down the Moon", it didn't knock me out. But don't tell those who were flying on silver wings that I said that.

The Freight and Salvage video benefit was a once in a lifetime chance to see an incredible retrospective of John's career, from the Cumberland Three in 1960 through the Gold era. A chance to see things you have never seen before. John and Buffy attended and both were knocked out by it. EVERYONE who attended was knocked out by it. If you didn't make the show, kick yourself hard.

9/19/99: I'm going to pipe up about someone who deserves more than a bit of thanks.

The person is Walter Scott, a longtime Trio fan. A few weeks back he offered his two Vega banjo's for sale to the best offer of at least $1500 each, with the money to go to Buffy. I was going to set up a little page advertising this generous offer, but Walter put the banjos up for sale on eBay and sold them both successfully. Here one man is going to be donating about $3,000.00 to the Buffy fund once he receives the payment for the banjos.

That tells you how much John and Buffy mean to us - and Walter especially - this is his way of thanking John for all that John has given him through life.

We all do what we can - but Walter ... hats off to you and a big thanks. -Ron

9/9/99: The latest news on John and Buffy; Tom DeLisle reports: "Talked to John tonight, who has just returned to NorCal from SoCal where his family and a few friends gave him an entertaining birthday party over the weekend. One of the friends in attendance was photog/singer/musician Henry Diltz, who put together a slide show of old JS, JS & Buffy, and Kingston Trio photos he has taken over the years. John said it was a mind-blower. Henry even has the 'out-takes,' the unused shots from album cover shoots (like the Signals photo sessions) that I'd love to see.

The cautious good news is that Buffy is progressing, slowly but surely, and that is exactly what we've been pulling for. Her recent MRI shows no new tumor growth, which is obviously good news and a relief. The jury is still out, however, about whether her pain and paralysis are being caused by swelling from the laser surgery of last winter. The doctors still can't be certain, although one technician who reads MRIs for a living said he was sure that it is indeed swelling of the brain caused by that gamma knife operation.

If it is just that swelling that is causing the trouble, that is terrific news because it augurs for a gradual full recovery for the Buffster. J&B only re