Club News

 “There is no standard set for the singing here, but we set a very high standard in listening.”
—motto of the An Góilín Traditional Singer’s Club, Dublin, Ireland

 ** Includes: Mothers, Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Sisters, Brothers, Husbands, Wives.

• Wednesday, January 18, 2006
  Freight and Salvage
  1111 Addison St., Berkeley

• Thursday, January 19, 2006
  Cafe du Nord
  2170 Market St, San Francisco

• Saturday, January 21, 2006
  Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale California

For more information see www.ambergrass.com and www.countryjoe.com.

The White Cockade Scottish Pub, 18025 Highway 9, Boulder Creek, CA opened Friday, September 2. Another great place to hear and play great music. Phone (831) 338-1414.

(being the inspiring true tale of a historic little folk venue, past and present, somewhere in New York)

In May of 1960, Lena and Bill Spencer first opened the doors to a small café on Phila Street in Saratoga Springs, New York. They called it Caffè Lena. Neither one had ever done anything like this before. But they figured it was a good place to open a café, make enough money to travel and pursue their individual interests. He was a sculptor. She was an actress.

In the ensuing years, Lena created a legend. It is the oldest continuously‐run coffeehouse in America. Caffè Lena has been associated with artists who have had a profound effect on American music. Bob Dylan played there on his first tour of the East. Don McLean first played “American Pie” on the Caffè Lena Stage. Arlo Guthrie sang there long before the rest of the world heard his music.

While a lot has been made of the many artists who have performed at Lena’s, the real secret to the magic of Caffè Lena was Lena Spencer herself. She and her café became one. It was more than just one of the finest listening rooms anywhere. The charm and simplicity of the woman is reflected in the café which she created. It was a home for artists and audiences alike.

Lena is now gone. She had left a legacy which friends all over the world recognize as a special place where artistic endeavors of all kinds can feel welcome. 

Lena Spencer—In Her Own Words

“How do you condense in a few short paragraphs the memories, the experiences, the love that spans two and a half decades? They’d fill a book and someday they will. The story of a vision and hope for dream fulfillment shared by Bill, trips from Boston to Saratoga, chugging along in the recalcitrant Morris Minor, to spend the weekend with hammer and nails, mops and brooms, then back to Boston to jobs to make a little money to buy the chairs and tables, the sputtering espresso machine, the cups and saucers and all the paraphernalia needed to open the doors on a venture with an uncertain future.

“And the early folksingers, strangers to us at first, but soon to become close and devoted friends: Dave Van Ronk and Dick Weissman and Logan English and Molly Scott who recommended and introduced us to their fellow artists and the list was started. The weekly Monday night trips to New York and the Hoots at Gerde’s, the visits to Izzy Young at the Folklore Center on McDougal, the Gaslight and the Bitter End, the Feenjon; and in Boston, the Golden Vanity and the Yana and all those places where we met and heard so many more and the list grew and grew.

“What memories there are! The young hopefuls seeking a stage to further their hopes and dreams; the heartbreak when they were shattered; the joy when they were realized. Ian Buchanan giving up his weekend gig to Reverend Gary Davis because he needed the money more. …And the all-night talk with Mississippi John Hurt after the show and a late night meal at Hatties. And the wonderful sessions with Joe Venuti and the afternoon concert when Maxine Sullivan joined him.  And the magical evening that went on until five a.m. when Bob and Evelyne Beers brought their Thanksgiving guests by and we sang and sang. And Sonny Matthews with his gnarled, arthritic fingers playing Scott Joplin rags like a virtuoso. And Pasha, that great old Siamese who stood at the top of the stairs to help me greet the guests and most of the time meowed in perfect pitch. And loving and devoted Tom Gregory, who sat at the back table doing his crosswords and who, despite his impaired hearing, knew when the music was good or bad and turned his hearing aid up or down accordingly. And John Wynne-Evans who brought such good theater to the café and gave me the opportunity to realize my acting ambitions.

“Every single person who graced our tiny stage, the great, the near-great, the not-so-great, they are all, in their own way, responsible for my still being here. I’ve lasted for some twenty-five years. I’ve done some things right, I’ve done some things wrong, but right or wrong, I’ve always tried to do the best I could. And I couldn’t have done it without the help of God and a lot of love from a lot of wonderful people. Thank you and God Bless You All.”