Okay... Happy Passo... um... East... uh...

Oh.

"Happy-First-Sunday-After-the-First-Full-Moon-after-the-Spring-Equinox"

(In case you've ever wondered why Easter moves around so much... that's why. More about that a little later.) But, whatever it is you're doing this weekend... Passover, Easter, whatever... have a fun weekend, okay?

But, yeah. I know... I know!

There are people reading this in different parts of the country. But here in New York City... MAN! What a weekend!

Really.... spring is here. And, I'm aching to head out to Central Park and start sharing Saturday afternoons with all of you.

But, that seasonal fence is still up around "The Hill". It won't be long, though, before I will be out there to begin the 15th season of music... another summer as "That Guitar Man from Central Park". Can't wait to get out there with a guitar on my shoulder. I promise you... on the first Saturday after the removal of the fence after the Spring Equinox... we will begin another season of music and laughs.

Very cool.

Thanks.

IN THE MEANTIME!!!

Here is the latest edition of "I Love the Company". (Click on the logo to listen or download it.)

Today's musical guest is David Abbinanti. The subjects of today's show are... well, I guess... "Summertime Songs" and... no, you'll hafta listen. But, I really dig David's music and he wrote a tune that I think is a cool summertime-head-to-the-beach kinda thing. So, I'm sharin' it with you.

What else? Oh yeah, here. Call "BIRDLAND" OR GO ONLINE AND MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THE...

THE ANNIVERSARY/SUMMER KICKOFF GIG

(You're not gonna wanna miss this thing. It's in two weeks!!!)

Y'know, like I said this is the the FIFTEENTH SUMMER in Central Park. And to celebrate the kickoff, I'm gonna do a very special ONE-TIME show at the legendary club, Birdland.

If you feel like coming to help me commemorate all the wonderful summers we've shared together (sniff) there are lots of tickets still available. It's a little more swanky than most of the places I've played. But, what the hell! Get a little dressed up if you feel like it! I'll probably hafta wear a shirt. (No shoes!) Dinner or drinks and a look back at all the music that's come my way in Central Park is gonna be a helluva a one-time event. Treat yourself nice. Bring a date. Bring a friend. Come by yourself! Get tickets now and make a night of it. It's an early gig for a Monday night and that's cool, too. Show up, look around and hang with all the same faces you see in Central Park in the summertime!

Anyway... it's on MAY 1 at 7:00 (That's a monday night.) Gonna be a sweet way for all the "People on the Hill" to say goodbye to the winter and hello to another season in the park.

Y'think?

To make reservations, just cick on this logo and visit the Birdland site.

Or call: (212) 581-3080

Okay... gotta go. Gotta get out into this weather. Gotta get to work bringing a whoe lotta new music out to the city I love in a few weeks. Gotta put together a gig for everyone that shows up at Birdland to help me celebrate 15 years of music in the park. Got a lot to do.

See to you soon, I hope.

By the way... if you're visiting this website from a different part of the country or a different part of the world, or even if you're here in New York City, be sure to register in the "Forum" and let us know what's up, okay? Let me know what you wanna hear and what you think. And, if you wanna catch up on any shows that you've missed... they're over there on the right of this page!

And, if you wanna email me about anything at all, just hit the "Contact" button over there, okay? I can't answer all the email I get, but I promise I read every single one... eventually.

Doh!!!

About EASTER!

Okay, why does it move when other holidays like Christmas stay put?

Because the church said so in A.D. 325. The date of Easter is determined according to the lunar calendar, while the date of Christmas is fixed on the solar calendar. (For Christmas, December 25th was actually originally picked arbitrarily to coincide with a Roman holiday to celebrate one of their gods, so that early Christians could blend in with the partying.) Before 325, there was no official celebration of the birth of Jesu ben Josef (Jesus), and Easter was celebrated by some Christians on Passover (another lunar holiday) and by others the following Sunday. The rationale? Y'see, Jesu ben Josef's last supper is presumed to have been a sader on Passover. Then he was crucified on a Friday, and the festival of Easter celebrates his resurrection two days later.

In 325, church officials at the First Council of Nicaea formalized the date of Easter in an effort to get everyone to celebrate on the same day (and also, probably, to kinda dissociate it from the Jewish Passover feast.) From then on, the holiday was celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after March 21, the start of spring.

(whew!)

Who said y'couldn't learn something here!?

Thanks again.