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The end of another year, as well as the end of the decade.
Wow...where to start?
In 2009 Oracle took a small step back as we eased our performance
schedule a bit. The almost 70 performances we did back in 2008
took it's toll, so we scheduled some additional personal time in during
the year in order to maintain our sanity, (and keep our spouses happy)!
Anyway, we have plenty of memorable moments during the course of the
year. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, if that's
true, we've got enough photos here to take us halfway through Webster's
Dictionary!
Are you ready? Let's go! Click on any of the images
below for an enlarged view.
Happy New Year - 2009
It has been an established tradition with these retrospective
albums that we begin with one New Years celebration and end with
another, and we're all into tradition here.
For New Years 2008-2009 Oracle returned to the American Legion
Post 175 in Severna Park Maryland, and despite some last minute
concern owing to a pretty bad economy we were able to sell every
ticket to this very popular event.
It has been our privilege to perform at the Legion for their New
Years celebration for most of the past decade. The folks there are
the best, American heroes who have served our country faithfully and
with distinction.
We'd like to thank all the men and women at the Legion who have
made us feel so welcome there, and we look forward to many more
performances there both in the lounge and downstairs in the party
room.
Most importantly, to the fans from the Legion who are regulars at
our performances, both there and at other public performances
throughout the area, you all are what keep us going. Your
encouragement and enthusiasm are why we're doing this, and we want
you all to know just how much it means to us.
Oracle's first public performance of 2009
began just two days after the big New Years bash at the
Legion concluded. The place...none other than one of the
hottest spots in Anne Arundel County, Whispers Restaurant &
Nightclub.
Being the weekend immediately after the New Year, one never knows
whether a crowd will come or not, since a lot of people are pretty
partied out from Holiday parties and New Years.
We needn't have been concerned as a great crowd cam out both
evenings to dance & party with us.
Our other performances at Whispers throughout the year were
equally special. You can see the photos from all of those
performances at the
Whispers
Photo Gallery.
Special Guest Appears With Oracle Band at Whispers
One of the highlights of the January 2009 Whispers performance
was a visit from our long time friend Tom Walsh, who used to work
with our trumpet player Steve in a show band called Pinoy back in
the late 70s.
Interestingly enough, Pinoy was fronted by three talented singers
from the Philippines!
Tom does an incredible impersonation of Louis Armstrong, and sat
in with the band singing "What A Wonderful World".
If you didn't know better you'd think old Satchmo himself was on
stage singing.
Northern Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce
One of our earliest performances in 2009 was for
the Northern Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce banquet.
Business leaders from all over the area came out to
dance and sing along with the band, and the dance floor was hopping
from beginning to end.
We saw several familiar faces in the crowd as
Oracle Band performs regularly in Anne Arundel County, and we are
looking forward to our return in 2010.
Great Oak Yacht Club Commodore's Ball
January once again found the band on the road, heading up to
Lancaster Pennsylvania to the Eden Resort for the Great Oak Yacht
Club Commodore's Ball.
Oracle has performed for Great Oak on a number of occasions, and
the locations are always unique.
Great Oak draws it's members from all over, so the Commodore's
Ball tends to move around quite a bit. In 2008 we were just
outside Atlantic City New Jersey, and them of course this past year
we were in Lancaster.
A popular conception of Yacht Clubs in general is a bunch of
stuffy old coots sitting around smoking cigars.
Nothing could be further from reality. These folks know how
to party. It's a kick-your-shoes-off-and-lets-go kind of
crowd, which is made up of folks of ALL age groups.
We are pleased that we have been invited back for a return
performance in 2010 on Kent Island, a little closer to home.
Belvedere Yacht Club Commodore's Ball
One other Yacht Club had it's Commodore's Ball in January, and
that was Belvedere Yacht Club.
This was the second year we have performed for this ball, which was
held at Snyder's Willow Grove in Linthicum Maryland, near Baltimore.
This is another group of folks that love to dance. From the
first song to the last you can bet the dance floor will be hopping.
Although right next to the Baltimore Beltway, Snyder's is a
fairly well guarded secret by the locals, who fear if word got out
of the great food and service there they might have to start making
reservations.
Suffice it to say that Snyder's is a great place to hold a party!
Valentine's Day at American
Legion Post 40 - Glen Burnie
In February love was in the air as Oracle visited American Legion
Post 40 in Severna Park Maryland for their annual Valentine's Day
Sweetheart Dance.
The cool part was that Valentine's Day actually fell on a
Saturday for a change, allowing folks to come out for a Valentine's
Dance actually ON Valentine's Day!
It was a sold out party that was dancing from the first note to
the last.
February also saw the last of the winter Commodore's Balls for
the band, as we travelled up I-95 to Edgewood Maryland and the
Richlyn Ballroom for the annual Middle River Yacht Club Commodore's
Ball.
The elegant surroundings at Richlyn couled with the enthusiasm of
the crowd made for a great evening.
The Love Continues...
Valentine's Dance at Woodholme Village
The beauty of having Valentine's Day n a Saturday
is that it afforded us the opportunity to have not one but TWO
dances at least somewhat close to Valentine's Day.
The community of Woodholme Village held a dance
on the Friday before Valentine's Day, and a spirited crowd came
out to enjoy the festivities.
We were even treated to the community Zumba
class dancing as we played the song "Mama Mia" by Abba,
Oracle Visits the Knights of Columbus in Severna Park
On Saturday the 21st of February Oracle headed out to Severna
Park to the Knights of Columbus hall where we have performed for a
number of different functions.
This time it was actually for the Knights of Columbus, for what
they called their first annual "Cabin Fever Dance", and although it
was not a complete sell out, we were pleased with the enthusiasm of
the crowd.
Oracle has been invited back for 2010, so we hope to see you
there!
St. Patrick's Day at American Legion
As we moved to the beginning of March two very special
performances found their way to the Oracle Band calendar.
The first of these was the annual St. Patrick's Day party at the
American Legion Post 175.
This has been an annual event for the band for many years now.
It originally started in the upstairs lounge, and as it's popularity
increased it was eventually moved downstairs to the larger party
room. The luck of the Irish could be felt everywhere as we partied
until the wee hours of the morning.
Another big event that has become a March tradition with Oracle
has been our performance for the Arc of Howard County at the annual
black-tie fund raiser known as the "Chocolate Ball".
The Arc sponsors vocational and
residential support and services, respite care, and other programs and
services for children and adults with cognitive and developmental
disabilities.
The event was held in the lobby area of the Kossiakoff Center, on
the campus of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Columbia.
