Glen Burtnik's 3rd Annual Christmas Extravaganza
December 17, 1993 - Stone Pony, Asbury Park
Tickets $10
We weren’t 100% happy with the previous year’s recordings. We wanted to be sure the album came out as good as possible. So, Alan Douches brought down a few digital tape recorders (I believe DA88's for all you gearheads) and we recorded this year’s concert as well.
I don’t recall much about this show. But here’s what I DO know. In general, the backing band was the Slaves Of New Brunswick with a few extra guest players.
ENTER PAT PETRILLO
Mark Sacco AND Pat Petrillo played drums. I met Pat when we were very small kids. Or so Pat says! Our older brothers played together in a band back then. We met years later and Pat eventually began playing with me - maybe right around the time of this show. (He plays great on my solo album PALOOKAVILLE).
ENTER PLINKY
In addition to returning Christmas alumni, Dusty Micale and Donna Dior, my extremely talented brother-in-law Plinky volunteered to play keyboards. (Plinky wrote & played on a Styx single with me, and is quite the producer.)
Marshall Crenshaw once again joined Bernie “BB” Brausewetter and myself on guitars. It is highly possible Jimmy Leahey may have made his first appearance at this show that night, but as it stands, he’s not even sure. What I am sure of is this: Jimmy is an amazingly well rounded player - a very talented cat.
ENTER VINNIE DANIELE
Tony Shanahan and Graham Maby returned to play bass and my friend from Cats On A Smooth Surface, Vinnie Danielle, joined us as well. Vinnie is not only a strong player, he is also a great singer and we’ve written some decent songs together.
Ed Manion returned to play sax.
ENTER NANCY SEBASTIAN
Shelly Thompson and Lisa Riccardi both returned to sing background vocals. New face Nancy Sebastian joined up and blew me away. She’s an exceptional singer and showed up for a number of future shows.
The opening act was comic named Maurice. After him, WDHA DJ TJ Bryan introduced the show.
I kicked it off singing THE FIRST NOEL solo as the choir walked on behind me, joining and gaining in volume until the climactic end. The choir, who I dubbed “The Buttafuoco Singers” next sang CAROL OF THE BELLS, ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH, THE DAY YOUR SHIP GETS THRU (a song off my 2nd solo album) and then our centerpiece, Handel’s HALLELUJAH CHORUS. I wish I could be certain, but I’m somewhat sure the choir this year included Mary Sue Proveaux, Ann Boyle, Gail Carone, Chip Carone, Sally Muldowney, Sandy Leone, Mindy Jostyn, Barbara Hahn, Joe Cerisano, Franke Previte, Kasim Sulton, Ray Anderson, Graham Maby, Tony Shanahan, Raphael, Chuck Buck, Matty Hahn, Bob Ward, and John Rogers. This year Dusty Micale worked so hard as my pianist/arranger, helping to kick the choral pieces into shape.
Next up, a barber shop quartet called The Deans Of Harmony who sang JINGLE BELLS. Then me, I sang WHITE CHRISTMAS and WINTER WONDERLAND. Don Dazzo of the Whirling Dervishes joined us to sing THE GRINCH and James Mastro returned to sing JESUS CHRIST. Jim Monaghan rejoined us to sing JINGLE BELL ROCK and Christine Kelly returned as well, this year bringing her brother Dani Kelly to help sing their CHRISTMAS SONG. Bernie “BB” Brausewetter sang both BACKDOOR SANTA and BOOGIE WOOGIE SANTA, which included a great guitar solo trade off.
Energetic Willie Nile came back to do OH COME ALL YE FAITHFUL as well as CHRISTMAS THING (a reworking of The Troggs WILD THING).
ENTER MARY LEE KORTES
A dear friend of mine, Mary Lee is a successful writer and critically praised artist (under the guise Mary Lee’s Corvette). She sang HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. Next I sang SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN and Chuck Buck returned to do another year’s comic bit as Santa Claus. Lenny Kaye returned with WISH IT COULD BE XMAS EVERYDAY and Tony Shanahan did Elvis’ SANTA CLAUS IS BACK IN TOWN. For another excellent and consecutive year, Tommy Conwell did his KINDA CHRISTMASSEY & Chuck Berry’s RUN RUDOLPH RUN. Marshall Crenshaw performed three songs: Elvis’ SANTA BRING MY BABY BACK TO ME, The Ventures’ SILVER BELLS and Commander Cody’s DADDY’S DRINKING UP OUR CHRISTMAS. Then, we all once again whipped out the Ventures’ arrangement of SLEIGHRIDE.
ENTER JOHN EDDIE
John wanted to sing CHRISTMAS (Baby Please Come Home), asking for a bit more the U2 approach. And that’s what we did. Before and after this, John has had records out and has an impressive number of believers in him.
I’m sure the night ended with John & Yoko’s HAPPY XMAS (War Is Over). But I’m not sure of anything else.
ENTER JEANNIE STALLMAN
Jeannie Stallman was in the audience that night. I didn’t know her, but she was to become an integral part of the show’s talent coordination from the next show on. She probably hadn’t heard of me either by then, but that night she was Willie Nile's taxi, as he needed a ride to and from Asbury Park.
Before the show, Jeannie, Willie Nile and Mary Lee Kortes went to dinner at a nearby funky Mexican restaurant (I used to eat there before Pony gigs). Jeannie noticed there were maybe one or two other customers maximum in the place. “I was thinking how these poor people thought they'd bought a restaurant at the beach and how could they lose?” You see, those of us who have grown up in New Jersey have watched that once lovely seaside resort, through time, turn inconceivably barren, run down and downright dangerous.
Jeannie enjoyed watching the Christmas Extravaganza from the audience that night. A year later, she mentioned to Tony Shanahan that she might be interested in volunteering to help out coordinating the show’s talent. Needless to say, she’s been a big part of the show ever since.
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