July 18: Back Porch Concert with Paul Kaplan

It's been a long time since we've had a house concert!  Last fall's planned visit by Lui Collins didn't happen, and indoor concerts are still a while off for us.  But it's summertime -- and here on the edge of Frick Park, we can enjoy the beautiful and thought-provoking songs of Paul Kaplan along with breezes and birdsong.  Friends involved in PASUP (Pittsburghers Against Single-Use Plastic) since the early days may recall my opening one of our public events with his "I Had an Old Coat", an ode to reuse.  Now Paul himself is coming to Pittsburgh, so we are venturing back into the musical realm!  If you are fully-vaccinated, please join us for a backyard acoustic show, weather permitting.  If by chance Saturday the 17th looks to be better weather than Sunday, we might move it up;  kind of a reverse rain-date (but we're hoping for Sunday).  Needless to say, you'll need to RSVP for this event -- both so I can keep a handle on numbers (space is limited), and in case we need to make a change due to weather or anything else.  (Apologies to anyone who isn't vaccinated -- we want to play it safe;  I hope you have a nice afternoon, wherever you are!)

Some reflections on his music:

Pete Seeger:  "I am a big fan of Paul Kaplan.  I love his singing;  I love his songs.  

Tom Paxton:  "You have all the goods in your songwriting.  I'm hearing your songs on the lips of many as I travel, so you are making your mark."

Chatham Magazine:  "One of the best lyricists America has."

David Massengill:  “Paul Kaplan has a rare gift for writing and singing songs in the old troubadour tradition. His new CD After the Fire is reminiscent of the works of Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers, with beautiful melodies and strong narratives seamlessly crafted into one classic ballad after another. This is the work of a master."

Aquarian Weekly:  "A master at both comic writing and serious composing... From the moment he started to sing he had the audience eating right out of the palm of his hand."

Car Talk:  "Eat your heart out, Wayne Newton."

More about Paul:  

Veteran musician and songwriter Paul Kaplan has been an enthusiastic participant in the folk music world since the late 1960s when his early anti-Vietnam war songs were published in the legendary protest magazine Broadside. 

His involvement with the singer-songwriter movement was sparked by his early love of the songs of Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton.  He pursued that love as a frequent attendee at the Songwriters’ Exchange at the Cornelia Street Cafe, in New York, and as a prolific contributor to The Fast Folk Musical Magazine, in which ten of his songs were included.  In the late 1970s, Paul had the opportunity to produce three posthumous albums by Phil Ochs for Folkways.

His first album, Life on This Planet, featured the songs "Call Me the Whale" and "Henry the Accountant", later covered by such folk music greats as Sally Rogers, David Massengill, Jay Mankita and Ed McCurdy.  His song "I Had an Old Coat" from King of Hearts (1985) has been sung by Nickelodeon stars Sharon, Lois and Bram (The Elephant Show), as well as by Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, and Cilla Fisher & Artie Trezise, to name just a few.  All three songs are available on his CD The Folk Process.

Paul’s interest in traditional music is reflected in his four years as a member of the group The Derby Ram, resident band of the Eagle Tavern in New York City.  With band founder Dan Milner, Paul co-authored the popular A Bonnie Bunch of Roses-Songs of England, Ireland and Scotland, published by Music Sales.

In his solo career, Paul’s warm style and gentle humor have charmed audiences at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, The Great Hudson River Revival, The Gotta Get Gon and Denmark’s prestigious Tønder Festival, as well as such venues as Passim, The Eighth Step, Mother’s Wine Emporium and Golden Link. 

Paul has been honored by the inclusion of his songs in two monumental collections produced by Smithsonian Folkways. One of his first songs, "Vietnam", appears in the Grammy-nominated Best of Broadside.  A second song, "King of Hearts", is featured in Fast Folk – a Community of Singers & Songwriters.  And in 2004 Henry the Accountant was included in Being Human — Readings from the President’s Council on Bioethics, along with works by Homer, Shakespeare, Dickinson, Whitman, G.B. Shaw, etc.  Paul’s latest honor was having  his songs “I Had an Old Coat” and “Call Me the Whale” included in the new Rise Again songbook, the successor to Rise up Singing (these two were also in Maren's repertoire back in her performing days). 

His latest album – We Shall Stay Here – contains twelve songs that reflect the way he sees the world.  Some may leave you in stitches; some may leave you in tears; some may leave you in your car in the driveway unable to stop listening.  All of the supporting players did beautiful work on this album.  Most notably, Paul was fortunate to get some amazing backup on four songs from Jay Ungar, composer of “Ashokan Farewell”, and from John Roberts (of "John Roberts & Tony Barrand" fame), who sings a duet with Paul and adds his classy concertina playing.

Logistical details:  

Paul's concert will begin at 4 p.m.;  you can arrive any time after 3:30.  The concert will take place outdoors, and we ask that only fully-vaccinated folks attend.  Please be sure to RSVP if you might come;  you can do so via email (maren dot cooke at gmail dot com), with "concert" in the Subject line -- or via Eventbrite.  Wondering about the address?  Lots more information will be sent to RSVP'd folks the evening before the concert;  in general terms, we're in Squirrel Hill near the Frick Environmental Center.   "Other information" will include directions, parking, pet info, suggested donation, and a weather update).  If the weather looks to be wet on Sunday, we may shift to Saturday.  If it's wet both days, we're out of luck.  If the weather's iffy, keep an eye on your email in case there's news (RSVP'd folks).  

July 10: Sustainability Salon gathering!

Remember those long-ago days when we had an annual no-topic salon each summer?  It was more of a social gathering than regular Sustainability Salons, when I didn't have to interrupt the Conversations for the Presentations.  In a departure from our usual format of talks and discussion focused on a single topic, we'd have more informal, free-flowing conversation.  Then came the pandemic, and Zoom...  and last year we just marched right through the whole season with a three-month series on economics (Energy Economics, Local Economies, and Social Investment).   But now, with a nice day in the forecast for Saturday, I'd like to invite folks (who are fully vaccinated) to an in-person, outdoor gathering.  We won't do a potluck supper as in days of old -- that's a bridge too far, at this time (what with the Delta variant circulating, others probably brewing, and less-than-universal vaccination).  And we'll spend our time outdoors, rather than congregating in the kitchen.   

So, with apologies to the faraway folks who have been enjoying our virtual events (and apologies to anyone who isn't vaccinated -- have a nice day wherever you are), the 114th Sustainability Salon will be our annual No-Topic Salon.  Outdoors, fully-vaxxed.  No need to be here the whole time;  no PowerPoints, just lots of conversation.  And no big potluck supper, just a little light afternoon fare.  Timeframe?  3-6 p.m., maybe 'till 7.

Be sure to RSVP if you might come!  I'll want to have a handle on numbers, and may need to cap attendance.  

In the meantime, a few other items of note:  

•  Next weekend (weather permitting), we'll host a house (backyard) concert with Paul Kaplan!  Hopefully on Sunday July 18th at 4;  if Saturday's weather looks better we may shift back to Saturday (a reverse rain-date).  If neither day has good weather, we're out of luck.  

•  August's Sustainability Salon will be on Climate Modeling (date TBA) -- back on Zoom.

•  The Driving PA Forward campaign, which we learned about in March, has a petition and info to call your legislators here.  

• Mask update: I have distributed all of the Breathe99 masks (featured at November's salon on Pandemics and Air (video), and one of TIME's 100 Best Inventions of 2020) from my bulk orders, but still have some of the new foam liners that address the condensation issue associated with a well-sealed mask, and a few boxes of filters.  Please email me with mask in the Subject line if you're interested.  If you order your own mask, remember that there's a $10 discount for salongoers (code SUSTAINABILITYSALON)!  Also -- with the ongoing crisis in India, Breathe99 is seeking crowdfunding to help send masks to particularly vulnerable people there.  Can you help?

•  Harvie Farms:  Simon Huntley, featured in last month's Food salon, has also offered a special discount to the Sustainability Salon community.  Choose your favorite items, help our small farms beat Big Ag, and build a more resilient food system -- members receive weekly or biweekly boxes of local groceries from Pennsylvania farms and artisans.  Coupon code MAREN25 will give you 25% off your first box!  Sign up here.  

This low-key, informal gathering (still no potluck supper) will take place between 3 p.m. and 6 or 7 p.m. Please be sure to RSVP if you might come!  I may need to cap attendance.  If you're not already on my Eventbrite list, please email me (maren dot cooke at gmail dot com) with salon in the Subject line to be added -- and let me know how you heard about salons!  To RSVP, respond via Eventbrite or simply email me with "salon" in the Subject line.  

For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum;  it's a mini-conference;  it's a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues;  it's a house party (if there weren't a pandemic) with an environmental theme.  Each month (usually) we have featured speakers on various aspects of a particular topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening (though the potluck and the music are on hiatus during the pandemic).

Past topics have included approaches to protection from pipelines, pipeline hazards, the legacy of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the judiciary and fair elections, consumption, pandemics and air,  election law and activism, air quality and environmental justice, social investment,  local economies, the economics of energy, mutual aid networks, ocean health, the rise of the radical right, the back end of consumption, approaches to activism on fracking & climate, air quality, technology, and citizen science, single-use plastics, election activism, election law, whether to preserve existing nuclear power plants, advanced nuclear technologies, passenger and freight trains, consumption, plastics, and pollution, air quality, solar power, youth activism, greening business, greenwashing, the petrochemical buildout in our region, climate/nature/people, fracking, health, & action, globalization, ecological ethics, community inclusion, air quality monitoring, informal gatherings that turn out to have lots of speakers, getting STEM into Congress, keeping Pittsburgh's water public, Shell's planned petrochemical plant, visualizing air quality, the City of Pittsburgh's sustainability initiatives, fossil energy infrastructure, getting money out of politics, community solar power and the Solarize Allegheny program, the Paris climate negotiations (before, during, and after), air quality (again, with news on the autism connection), reuse (of things and substances), neighborhood-scale food systems, other forms of green community revitalization, solar power, climate change, environmental art, environmental education (Part I & Part II), community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, more solar power, trees and park stewardship, alternative energy and climate policy, regional watershed issues, fantastic film screenings and discussions (often led by filmmakers) over the winter with films on Food Systems, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Plastic Paradise, Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Triple Divide on fracking, You've Been Trumped and A Dangerous Game, A Fierce Green Fire, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, and more food (a recurrent theme;  with California running out of water, we'd better gear up to produce a lot more of our own!)