Cappy's old place in Marksboro, NJ is doing fine

The November leg of my Oceans of Kansas tour started in Marksboro, New Jersey, a rural community about an hour west from the town I live in. It’s a place of rolling hills and wheat fields, where the church resides across the road from an old farm equipment repair shop reborn as a mill and a gathering place for community. And, as it turns out, a welcoming place for a band on tour.

The night felt like a homecoming because the idea of bringing my music to this space was the brainchild of one of my favorite people (and longtime supporter of my music): Ruth Perretti. Ruthie is singularly and generously creative, community-oriented, and the kind of person I like to hang out with and make music for.

I want to share a little about this special place, person and night with you.

A few years ago, Ruth and her husband, Eric Kaplan (blues musician and chef), left the Jersey town where they had built and run a beloved local BBQ/pizzeria and blues venue for Frelinghuysen Township in northwestern New Jersey. There Ruth established Marksboro Mills, a working mill for local grain farmers that miraculously transforms into a bustling bakery and special events pop up on weekends.

The night the band came to town, the show was held in Ruthie’s Garage, a re-imaged repair shop next to the Mill, once called “Cappy’s”, with a still-operational potbellied stove that came in handy when the temperature dropped. It now does business as a wildly imaginative vintage and rare goods store: old-fashioned hand knit lap blankets, pink and gold ribbons from the state fair, aunt nelly’s tchotchkes, mysterious maps, chandelier earrings, and shot glasses from a long ago trip to Old Faithful.

It was a good night, one that included Eric busting out his blues guitar to join the band for our cover of Canned Heat’s “On The Road Again” and Ruthie swinging her dance moves across the floor. Ruthie and I talked about what it takes to “make it happen” - when the “it” is a creative dream you’re chasing.

And then we played new tunes from the Oceans of Kansas album and few old ones too - like Sharp Devil (in the video clip below). The acoustics in that old repair shop were magnificent; the blues were bluesier and the lyrics resonated throughout the room, bouncing off the wood post ceilings back down to the listeners sipping some delightful peach concoction poured from pitcher of etched glass. People whooped and laughed and got misty-eyed. When the songs were over, we told each other stories, made plans to stay in touch and oh, what a night it’s been, we said.

The band: Joseph Yount on drums, Drew Hart on bass, Eric Burns on guitar and Joel Dorow on harmonica. With special guest, Eric Kaplan, on guitar.

[Next up on tour: Charlottesville and Bowling Green, VA]