Happy Meatster! 15th Annual DMOAS "Art vs Meat" Battle Royale To Honor Dirk Dirksen

If you haven’t already heard from E. Bunny, the ultimate Rites of Spring Carnivore Sculpture Contest and Sacrilicious BBQ is being hosted at the Willie Boy Wonder Compound in Alameda on April 8th. This year’s event will honor the passing of it’s long time beloved MC, "King of Meat", and Muffineer, Dirk Dirksen. So get creative, assemble some meat and head over to the island for some good old time family fun. Remember, it must be mostly meat, on a stick (doesn’t hurt) and it must hit the grille. Hell fire starts at noon, final judgement at 3PM… and bring a side dish and something to raise in a toast to Dirk! For additional info, email thos.bell@gmail.com

Ticket Money Trickles In... and a Sponsorship Offer

With ONLY about 2 days left, the $20 (insanely cheap) early ticket offer is getting ready to expire. If you can get your letter with check payable to “Meadow Muffin” post marked by Saturday or catch one of us on Sunday you too can take advantage of this incredible offer. With funding an issue (as always) Cyn has been beating the bushes for “sponsors” willing to underwrite one or more of the parties “fundamentals”. She sez that Vasco and Boyd have offered to fund this year’s hayride (both days!). Wow, very cool guys! A few other folks (Larry, TOC and C&M) have kicked in general seed money to help get the ball rolling. So… buy some tickets or sell some tickets so we can pay these guys back. Remember if you miss this deadline you can still get $5 off by contributing by 5/15. After that you will have to pay the outrageous fee of 30 bux! I realize that this isn’t Burning Man (thank you very much) but the last I checked tickets were going for $250!!! At these prices we are practically paying you to go to the Muffin!

Once Again, Direct From Folsom, The BBC!

After the blow-out performance last year that had everyone on their feet twisting and shouting, the boys from Folsom will be back this year. Don't even think about leaving before Monday if you know what's good for you. If you missed 'em last year (Doh!) or didn't make it to the Muffin (Doh!-Doh!) fret no more. There is more info on their web site at: http://thebbctribute.com ... and don't let the "tribute" thing scare you off, these guys kick some serious butt!

Arrrrrgh!!! Captain Mike and the Sea Kings are Onboard!

Looks like the salmon are off the hook for Memorial Day weekend this year. Captain Mike has decided to tie up at the dock, get his land legs in gear to make an appearance with his band at this years Muffin. The Sea Kings lay down some wicked electric blues and can be heard around the East Bay.

More details and some sound samples of the Sea Kings are available at their web site: http://www.myspace.com/captainmikeandtheseakings.

The Kings will be appearing at the Oakland Crab Fest on March 24 at Jack London Square. Additional dates are posted on their site.

Weasels Manager Playboy Millionaire Hank Gimme Rejects Top Scientific Honor, Thumbs Nose at "New" Muffin (CLICK ORANGE HEADER FOR THE LATEST POST!)

In a move that has ruffled the feathers of the academic community worldwide, Playboy Millionaire Hank Gimme, manager of the yet undefeated professional horseshoe team, 'The Weasels', and owner of the Meadow Drive-in theater, has abruptly said, "Up Yours!" to top scientists planning to name a newly discovered galaxy in his honor. 'Big deal, so what ?', said Gimme in a recent interview. 'Look, anybody can get a star or blackhole named after them for fifty bucks, I wanted something special, I own a goddamn Egyptian pyramid for chrissakes, so it has to be real classy ... So I got this idea, I went to Steven Hawking, the Big Brain, the 'Go To Man' in that slimy world of science. He tried to reassure me that having a galaxy named after me was a big honor'. I looked him eyeball to eyeball and said, 'Screw that, Brainiac! I want you to name the Big Dipper after me, and right away too! I slammed 3 million bucks down to make sure it was a done deal and walked out. You will all be so sorry that you tried to slight my image! And speaking of sorry, that's what I should rename the annual joke known as Meadow Muffin,-Sorry! For years my Weasels have gone to this quagmire of loserdom mostly to give the local hicks some charitable pity play with superstar level celebs. For years I endured punks and hippies puking and screwing within ten feet of my Hummer! I finally got used to it, but now there's talk of a 'New Muffin', thats more 'family oriented'. "As owner and operator of the Meadow Drive-In, I say ,'SCREW YOU ALL', no one ever tells me what to do. So from now on it will be nightly showings of the raunchiest explicit porn I can find and I will rub your noses in it until you scream for more.

Electro-Jam Ensemble "Robo-Weed" Seeking Friday Night Slot

Members of the long defunct band “Robomaster” are considering joining forces with Unreal keyboard wizard “Weed-man” for a possible appearance at the Friday night “No Warranty” open mic. It’s gonna require a case of WD and a few cans of jiz-wax to blow the rust off the Master’s licks. All I can say is be sure to stand clear when they warm up. No tellin’ what sort of spiders and critters have been livin’ in those old Arps after all these years.

Git Off Yer Butt and Hit the Streets For St. Stupid's Day!

The First Church of the Last Laugh (FCLL) has announced the 29^th annual (sound familiar) St. Stupid's Day parade and post parade festivities in SF on April 1. Long time church elder (and Muffineer!) Bishop Joey will be leading this years parade (as always) from the “pointy” building through the financial district and North Beach paying hommage to the usual “sacred” spots. Put on something stupid, join the fray and prepare to be stupified! For details check out the Bishop’s web site: http://www.saintstupid.com/.

GET STUPID!

Cavepaint Crew Warms Up St. Pat Festivities at the Chateau

Rick, Ed and other members of the Cavepainters wound up at the infamous Regent Street “Chateau” in Berkeley, Saturday, to help kick start the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. The band was hot off their performance at Cafe Zeste earlier in the day. CP spokesperson, Rick Purcell, says that he and the band are definitely psyched up for this year’s Muffin. If the past is any predictor of the future, Muffin “Holler” will be THE sweet spot to hang your hammock again this year.

2007 Flyer Art Raises the True Spirit Of Muffin

True to form, Paul Pot has dug in deep to dish up a big fat dose of the Muffin spirit with his flyer for this years event. From the looks of things we're in for one hell of a spooky time this year. In the words of our recently departed dear friend and Muffin brother, Irish, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE MUFFIN!.. THE MUFFIN HANDLES YOU!". This year that may ring more true than ever. Thank you Paul ...and Pat, we'll catch up with you later man. Ghost rider's in the sky...indeed!

Teens Run Free and Wild at the Muffin... NOT!

I got a query about the ticket requirements for kids this year. In the past we have asked that folks get tickets for everyone over 12 years old. Technically MM is NOT a “for profit” event (we’ve been in the black once or twice in 31 years!) and therefore tickets are a formality that we use to keep track of “donations”. That aside, MM is intended to be an adult party and although we don’t want to discourage our friends from bringing their teens, we want to be clear that to do so means that you will take responsibility for them (like anyone else you bring). Forking over cash tends to make folks take it more seriously, besides, I was going to rock and roll shows when I was 14 and I never got in free!

Now, about those Dogs...

Clams Still Digging for Bass Player

Paul Pot, notorious bandleader of The Happy Clams and perennial host of the Wednesday Night Missouri Club Open Mike, reported last night that the band is still seeking a bass player. Pot indicated that they would do whatever is necessary to pull the band together for another Muffin performance (even giving Guy a map if things get dire). If you know a bass player that you think might be “Clam-worthy”, please contact Paul. The band website is http://www.thehappyclams.com/ and you can usually reach Paul at the Miz (http://www.myspace.com/missourilounge) on Wednesdays. Muffeteers are seriously craving another rendition of “I’m too old to die young”, “Death of my favorite shirt” and other Clam hits.

Blues Powerhouse Dan Lange On Bill For Muffin XXXII

Slide guitarist and singer (and Philly homey), Dan Lange (http://buskersblues.blogspot.com/) will be making the trek from his new home in Portland, OR to make his THIRD appearance at the Muffin. Dan adds a whole "other" dimension to the Muffin lineup and we are damn glad to have him! His CD’s (“Streetwise”, “Please and Thank You”) are available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/lange2. Check out his web site and be sure to drop by and say hi to Dan at the Muffin.

Club Oiselle Announces Exclusive "Gold Nugget" Membership For 2007

Club Oiselle announced today, a new first class service available for the first time ever at the Muffin. Muffin patrons purchasing tickets before April 1 will now receive a special “Gold Nugget” card entitling them to special privileges including Member Only access to the club’s “Gold Room”, catered gourmet snacks, premier show seating and an invitation to all club sponsored activities. Membership also includes a back stage pass good for all Muffin performances. Cards may also be purchased at the Muffin for the standard membership fee of $100.

Horseshoe Challenge

Willie "boy" Wonder, member of Team Weasel had something to say about this year's Muffin Horseshoe Tournament: " After a forced absence due to my back injury from toting around numerous gold championship belts and trophies from last years wins in the professional horseshoe championship tour, I am looking forward to working with Man Mountain Bobby Beautiful, AKA "The Hammer". I am certainly getting a whiff of winning and I must say, Victory never smelled so sweet!"

Pinheads Rejoice! Lil' JuJu is Muffin Bound!

Yup, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is indeed Muffin’s own Willie Boy Wonder proudly showing off his rolling pinball arcade, a shiny rebuilt 60’s Spartan trailer packed to the gills with 60’s pins. A real "time machine" of sorts hoping to make its first appearance at the Meadow Muffin this year.

Stay tuned for details or visit JuJu online: http://www.ujuju.com/

The "Itchy Muffin" rumors are all true

I can confirm that The Itchy Mountain Men will be taking a break from their Summer '07 "Mountain Madness" tour to play the Muffin.
"This is a no-miss event" sez band mandolin player and vocalist Joel "Snuffy" Morais, "the biggest event since we were recognized as "Best Emerging Talent" last September at the Berkeley Old Time Music Festival."
"I cannot wait to twang my big 'ol instrument at the Muffin" sez bassist Ben "String Bean" Margolin.
"I hope I can pay-off my parking tickets in time" sez guitar player and vocalist Roger "Stretch" Krakow.
"Very Cool" sez rolling five-finger banjo player Ricky "Slick" Meier.
The band will be joined this year Christine "ChrissyK" Donaldson vocals and harmonies. "Where do I audition?" sez ChrissK.
For those who are interested, The Itchy Mountain Men's '06 Muffin performance can be seen at

Youtube.com by searching under:"Itchy Muffin"or by pasting the following hyperlink in your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B28379436841C6E7

Or by going to the Band's website at:
http://www.itchymountainmen.com/

Prospective Muffin Dance Band: JUICE

An old friend of Vasco (and a few other of us as well), Boyd plays in an R&B band called “Juice” that he would like to bring to the Muffin. I haven’t heard them but Vasco sez “They are a great dance band and have played Sweetwater’s in Mill Valley several times”. He has sent me some MP3’s that I can forward to you if you like. They have a sort of “Airplane” psychedelic sound but you should listen for yourself. Let me know what you think.

Itchy Mountain Men Announce Break in Tour to Perform Muffin Festival

Marin County's own Itchy (Scratchy) Mountain Men have announced that they will cancel Spring engagements to appear at the Meadow Muffin Mountain Music Festival at an undisclosed location in May. An unconfirmed rumor has it that the spirited lads may appear incognito as the Itchy “Muffin” Men. Manager/promoter Vasco “Magic” Morais indicated that the band was looking forward to this event as a way to unwind from a demanding touring schedule.

Meadow Muffin XXXII Launched!!!

Thanks for coming out to the meeting last week. I’m glad everyone is juiced about doing MM32!Things we decided on:
Tickets will be $20 til April 1; $25 til May15 and $30 after and at the “door”
Target budget will be $2500
Here is an overview of stuff we need done:
In March or ASAP -
Flyer art work – Paul Pot “volunteered”
Flyer printing and mailing
Ticket artwork and printing
Ticket distribution and accounting
Line up entertainment:
So far we’ve got the usual suspects… (in no particular order)
Cavepainters (Rick & Co). - *Need contact info – Jenny, TOC
Dan Lange - *Need contact info – Gary, Jenny?
Happy Clams sans bass player – Paul
Paul Manousos Band (TOC need to check on cost/avail) (http://www.paulmanousos.com/)
BBC – Greg will contact on cost/avail (http://www.thebbctribute.com/)
Captain Mike’s band – Gary will contact to determine LOI/cost
Gary’s “All-Star” band – members TBD
Bill Horton (Rutabaga) - third time is a charm? – Greg to contact
Pickin’ Trix (Camille in Austin? Whaaa!) – Paul (http://www.thepickintrix.com/)
Itchy Mountain Men - Vasco
Hayride – Greg will contact/confirm w/Duane
Video – Mark and Bill
Pin-ball trailer (L’il JuJu) - Mike
In April –
Finalize Entertainment/Budget - DONE
T-Shirt Artwork - DONE
Arrange T-Shirt Printing - DONE
Sell Tickets!!! - DONE
Site Visit – Check out stage condition, tractor requirements?
In May –
Order (plenty-o) Port-a-potties
Mow down/stage setup (Saturday before hand)
New horse shoe back stops!
Sell Tickets!!!
The Weekend – Thursday/Friday
Setup signage
Setup Club Oiselle
Setup stage and sound system
Setup video
The Weekend – Saturday/Sunday
Collect tickets/cash
Sound support
Sell T-Shirts
Bartend (I want this job)
The Weekend – Saturday/Sunday
Sound support
Bartend
The Weekend – Monday
Clean up, clean up & clean up!!!
Break down/pack... hey get back here!

OK , Let me know if you want to help with something specific. I’d like to get a signup page and a mailing list (both snail and email) going that folks can add to. Until then, mail comments, ideas, whatever to this group.

MUFFIN!!!