The Three Jacks: News

Hey Guys!  Seems like there is an extra special helping of natural disasters sweeping the Caribbean and Latin America at the moment.  This just in from our videographer friend Andrea on the effects of the tidal wave on one tiny island off Chile.  http://vimeo.com/9927098  Even if you feel tapped out and numb already, please consider giving.

(Looks like the next Jacks show will be at The Teatro Nacional in Managua, Nicaragua - http://www.tnrubendario.gob.ni/- firming up details.  Watch this space).

The English have always loved pointy things. Early on they found that pointy things, hurled by hand, were better than rocks. When they discovered how to harness the power of the bent string, they were able to hurl the pointy things even farther and really began to kick some Continental butt.  At the battle of Crecy, the English archers kept up a rate of fire of nearly sixty pointy things a minute to the French rate of ONE every TWO minutes. This was due to a Gallic chauvinism and love of complication that preferred the cross-bow - a French invention which had to be loaded with a winch - to the English longbow, which could be loaded with naked fingers. (The same factors were behind the French adoption of the Guillotine, a massive, expensive, slow-operating machine, designed to do a pretty simple job, while the English stuck to the faster, cheaper and more portable headsman's axe. Note that in thorough monarchical trials, the score was even: Louis XVI; Guillotine; one whack. Mary, Queen of Scots; Axe; one whack). But we digress .....

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It was their prowess with string-powered and other pointy things that enabled the Sassenach to keep the fierce Celtic tribes in the Northern rocky fringes of their main island of England (beyond Hadrian's Wall, where the Roman legions had earlier pushed them with their hand-held pointy things) and to overrun Eire. After destruction of the clan system and lengthy outlawry of all the most-cherished symbols of the Gaelic culture - including the wearing of kilts, tartans and the playing of the bagpipes in Scotland and the "wearing of the green" in Erin; such far-sighted measures as exporting Protestant Lowland Scot cattle thieves to the north of Ireland as an alternative to hanging (the legacy of which is the continuing sectarian strife of today); and allowing two out of four million people in Ireland to starve to death or leave in the mid-19th century; the Scots and the Irish were rendered tractable enough to be allowed to handle pointy things in the service of the King.

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After gunpowder was brought back from the East, Europeans figured out that if they exploded the substance in a tube closed at one end, they could make pointy things come out of the other end a lot faster than even the strongest strings could hurl them. (Amazingly, this rather obvious use of gunpowder had proved inscrutable to the inscrutable Orientals who had only got as far as using gunpowder to make fireworks). The "Brits" (now composed of the Sassenach and the Celt under one political system) were among the foremost gunsmiths - and the first to conduct real ballistics tests to figure out what bullets did when they hit meat and bone. Such thorough trials (on beef carcasses, we hasten to add) preceded the adoption of the big, fat, .455 caliber round for the Webley Mark VI officer's pistol, for instance. The Tommies' facility in the hurling of pointy things was exemplified by the fact that, at The Somme, they managed a rate of fire of sixty pointy things a minute from their bolt-action Lee-Enfield .303's, (ahhhh!! shades of Crecy and Agincourt) giving the Hun to believe that they were facing machine guns.  And by the time that the Great War drew to a close, the Brits were able to hurl more pointy things, faster – many of which exploded – from more kinds and sizes of tubes in the air, on land and at sea than any other nation on earth.

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Twenty-one years later, of course, Round Two of the European conflict began. The problem was a chap in mainland Europe who proclaimed the pre-eminence of the Saxon peoples and who was intent on giving them a little more room to stretch out in: like, basically, the whole of Europe. These Saxons across the water showed that they had not lost their handle on the art of hurling pointy things. Indeed, they came up with the idea of equipping pointy things with their own portable power supplies, thus inventing modern rocketry. The V1 and V2 pointy things launched from Peenemunde devastated England’s capital and its industrial cities and the Saxon armies, hurling wide varieties of pointy things “on land and sea and foam” (in the words of the song), very nearly brought Britain to its knees.

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Strangely enough it was Australia – peopled in great measure by descendants of England’s outcasts, including Irish political transportees; Canada – with its overwhelmingly Scots makeup; and, most importantly, America – hugely peopled by Scots and descendants of survivors of the Great Irish Famine – who came to the rescue. After putting a decisive end to the war – by dropping a couple of really big exploding pointy things on the Nipponese – which really served them right for not having figured out gunpowder all those centuries earlier (plus, of course, Pearl Harbor, the Rape of Nanking, the murder of 8 million Chinese etc., etc.) – America remedied the astonishing lack of anything resembling “war crimes” in international law by inventing the concept and then convicting and executing the Saxon leaders on such charges. As a pragmatic nation, however, America forgave and adopted all the Saxon rocketeers and put them to work making big, pointy things with their own portable power supplies that could devastate any country on earth and even reach the stars. (This infusion of Nazi talent into the Land of the Free was clearly just in time, given that the pinnacle of achievement in American motor technology by the end of the war was the Detroit V8).

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Britain, nearly bankrupted by the war, was forced to become kinder and gentler as the years went on, since it no longer had the power to obliterate those that it disagreed with. The nadir in this decline was exemplified by the sinking of British ships in the Falklands War by FRENCH-built pointy things! Step-by-step Britain began to get out of the manufacture and export of machines which hurl pointy things. Increasingly, it even forbade its domestic population to play with any such toys. This culminated recently in a total ban on all hand-held things that go bang and hurl pointy things whatsoever. Nevertheless, as we have shown, the Brits have a lengthy tradition of hurling pointy things and this urge must, clearly, have an outlet. Which brings us to the point. It is this urge, that has no other practical outlet, that is, we believe, behind the British passion for playing Darts.

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As those of you know who have been following our exploits over time, my eldest son, Alexander, is our chief roadie and leader of the group in on-stage jigging and enthusiastic assistance whenever the song calls for yelps, howls or drama of any sort.  He is shown above with arm upraised before leading the entire road crew in a dance while acting out the demise of the ship's dog in "The Irish Rover."  A lad with a keen eye for the spotlight who usually has to be physically wrestled offstage. ................................................  This to let you know that after years of loading his Dad's gear onto one stage or another, Dad finally gets the job of roadie (and band-mate) to Alexander.  ...........................................  November 21, 2009, at 10:00-ish, sees the first show of The Revelators, up at Churchill's.  Rock legend, Charlie Pickett - as in Charlie Picket & The Eggs, ex of the MC3, etc. - is on the slide SG.  Chris DeAngelis of the 18 Wheelers is on bass.  Hammering out the backbeat on drums is "El Torito," a/k/a Alexander Milne.  And yours truly gets to hone his rock 'n' roll chops on the Les Paul.  .................................  We will be playing a mix of oldies but goodies (our own and other peoples') and new tunes we have written recently.  Just brutal, straight-forward, much-too-loud, three-chord rock with attitude.  Back to basics, where it all began for every rock musician in town: Churchill's.  More at www.revelators.us.  ..............................  See you there?  It's gonna be fun!

Henk

We had a fantastic time at Gusman Center for The Performing Arts on October 17 and - and judging by the flood of OTT - ("over-the-top" to all you non-brits) - e-mails, so did you guys.

There were around 1,100 of you and it seemed like about half of you managed to cram into the after-party at The River!!!  Most importantly, we raised a whole bunch of money for Jackson Memorial.

Here is a link to a pretty over-driven "Amazing Grace" from someone's video camera in the audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xllNN7j8MEI (Diane rocks!)  Bob Sokol took a bunch of great pics - (a sample below and on the front page).  More video from our own crew when it is edited.  Gi'e yerselves a big pat on the back and let's do this again together sometime soon!

Slainte!

Henk

 

We are now in the run-up to the show at Gusman on Saturday.  All costs are covered.  We are profitable -- and can now drop the price of admission to $15, to make sure that everyone can attend.

Students with valid ID at the Box Office on Flagler get in for just $10 - as the students at Miami-Dade and New World School of The Arts, just blocks away, are quickly figuring out!  (Psssssstttt!!! spread the word!!!)

 Slainte!

 Henk

Pippa and I love the theater, and above all the fantastic innovative shows at GableStage.  We have had season tickets for years and have always considered it amazing that we had Broadway or Shaftesbury Avenue-quality Theater basically in our own backyard, here in South Florida.  I have always loved the intros that Joe Adler - The Director at GableStage - does for his shows and am delighted that he will join Lissette in hosting our show at The Gusman -- another publicly-owned Miami treasure, badly in need of support.  If you don't know Joe, or his theater, here is an introduction: "Joseph Adler is now in his twelfth season at GableStage.  He previously directed at many South Florida Theatres including: Coconut Grove Playhouse, New Theatre, Area Stage, Hollywood Boulevard Theatre, Players Theatre, Ruth Foreman Theatre, Florida Shakespeare Theatre, City Theatre, Hollywood Playhouse and Shores Performing Arts. Active in South Florida's film and theatre community for many years, he has directed hundreds of television commercials and industrial films - winning many awards, including the Clio. Other directorial credits include several independent feature films, a video version of the Broadway hit comedy Doubles and a cable TV series. Since Adler became Producing Artistic Director, GableStage has been the recipient of 30 Carbonell Awards and 135 Carbonell Nominations. He has been nominated nineteen times (twelve at GableStage) and eight times won the Carbonell Award for Best Director: The Shadow Box (Coconut Grove Playhouse); The Killing of Sister George (Players Theatre); A Lesson Before Dying, James Joyce's The Dead, Edward Albee's The Goat, Frozen, The Pillowman and Lieutenant of Inishmore (GableStage). Adler was awarded the prestigious George Abbott Award for "significant contributions to the artistic life and cultural development of greater Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches." He has received many Best Director awards (Curtain Up, SunPost, New Times) and a Remy Award from the Theatre League of South Florida, as well as The Heart of the Arts Award presented by the New World School of the Arts. He was awarded the 2008 Arts and Entertainment Community Service Award, presented by the South Florida International Press Club, and this year he was honored to receive the Truth Award from the Human Services Coalition. Adler studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and graduated from the Film Department at NYU."  ------------------------------  Do yourselves a favor, check out the GableStage website:  http://www.gablestage.org/ Slainte! Henk

Hi Guys!  We have had a magnificent response from our many sponsors of our concert for Jackson Memorial at Gusman Center for The Performing Arts on October 17.  We are already profitable and can therefore lower tickets prices to make sure everyone can afford to attend.  Students with valid ID are $10.  Student + companion tickets through Culture Shock are $5.  Regular full price tickets are $35 but a second ticket is half-price, or $16.50.  Any regular tickets remaining after Tuesday October 13 will be $15.  For details on how to buy, click on "shows," above.  Slainte!  Henk

Students ages 13-22, and their companions, can buy tickets for only $5 to the best performances in town - including the Three Jacks + Breffni show at Gusman.  The first ticket must be used by a student, but the second ticket can be used by a person of any age.  There are only a limited number of these tickets available.  So get 'em while they are still there!!!!  Click here: http://www.miamidadearts.org/tickets/Music.aspx

 

Hey guys! I just heard that CBS4 Weather Anchor Lissette Gonzalez, Former Miss Florida, 2nd Runner-up Miss America, Starred as "Maria" in the hit Off-Broadway musical "4 Guys Named Jose and una mujer named Maria" in New York and Miami, will MC the Gusman show. Lisette is hugely talented and a real sweetie. Maybe we'll get her to sing!

Hi Guys! During 2008, the Jacks had scheduled a mini-tour of Peru to raise funds to help build a hospital in Pisco, Peru, for the relief of kids and their families still living in the wreckage of the 2007 earthquake. On the brink of our leaving, my wife, Pippa, was scheduled for very serious and very difficult emergency surgery. We were able to play the (sold-out) kick-off show at The Arscht Performing Arts Center in Miami, but had to cancel the Peruvian shows. During the week that Pip spent in the ICU in Jackson Memorial Hospital, I made a promise to myself that, if and when life returned to normal, and we had followed through on our commitments in Peru, we would do a couple of “Thank You” fundraisers for two fantastic treasures of our Miami community: Jackson Memorial Hospital and the world-renowned surgical team at The University of Miami Sylvester Center - starring the incredible Dr. Mike Wang!!! After a month in rehab, Pip came home. She is now walking, driving, swimming and working out, and is back in charge as CEO of the Milne Family. She was strong enough to come with us to Lima in May where we played two great shows and were on two national Peruvian TV shows and managed to raise over $49,000 for the Pisco Hospital project. Construction, shown here, is now well underway: And so here we are back in Miami and about to make good on the first part of that promise I made in the Jackson ICU: With the enthusiastic backing of the Jackson Memorial Foundation, we have put together a fundraising concert for Jackson Memorial – our community’s primary tertiary care center and teaching hospital - at the gorgeous Gusman Concert Hall in downtown Miami: The concert is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, 2009, under the working title: “The Three Jacks – Raising the Bar for Jackson Memorial,” and will feature the Three Jacks and the wonderful Breffni Irish step dancers and will be filmed by the University of Miami film crew which accompanied the band to Peru. This is a pure volunteer effort and the objective will be to sell as many tickets as possible, and to raise cash donations and pledges in addition. As indicated by the title “Raising the Bar,” a prime focus of fund-raising efforts is on local attorneys – who have responded enthusiastically - although all sponsors and contributors are welcome. This show has been made possible by the generosity of many wonderful firms and individuals, including: Renee Braswell --- The American University of The Caribbean --- Panter Panter & Sampedro, P.A. --- The River Oyster Bar --- Aballi Milne Kalil, P.A. --- Buckner Shifrin Rice & Etter, P.A. --- Dirk Lorenzen, P.A. --- Kenny Nachwalter, P.A. --- Kaufman & Rossin & Co. --- Shutts & Bowen, P.A. --- Podhurst Orseck, P.A. --- Reliable Jet, Inc. --- McDermott Will & Emery --- Better Life Foundation --- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. --- Berenfeld Spritzer Schechter & Sheer, LLP --- Miami Beach Recording Studios --- Ray & Idia Croes --- Colson Hicks Eidson --- Rasco Klock Reininger Perez Esquenazi Vigil & Nieto, P.L. --- Greenberg Traurig, LLP --- Kroll Ontrack/TrialGraphix.  All proceeds go to charity, but, as opposed to the usual “rubber chicken dinners” that you have to dress-up for and sit through, bored out of your skull, for this one you can wear your jeans and actually have a whole bunch of fun. So come on out and join us on October 17, and help us rock the house with what Jacob Katel at New Times calls: "the foot-stomping, whiskey-drinking, Miami-style Irish party music your Guinness dreams are made of." If you would like to chip in: checks made payable to "The Jackson Memorial Foundation," c/o Aballi Milne Kalil, P.A., 2250 Suntrust International Center, Miami, Florida 33131. Online donations can be made here:
Pass the word!!! Slainte! Henk

To all of you who have been asking to see film from Peru:

We have about 40 hours of video from the Peruvian mini-tour - airport to airport - that needs editing before release - plus film from the two prime-time, Lima TV shows we did while we were there - "Odiosas" and "Sonidos Del Mundo."

But our film-chicks - Andrea and Walyce - are shooting in Prague until August 20 and cannot start the edits until they get back. We will post clips here and on www.youtube.com as soon as we can.

Slainte!

Henk

Yo All!

As soon as we got back from Peru, everyone split up to catch up on everything we had all set aside to go do the fundraisers in Lima. (I went off to Aruba, London and Dublin; our U. of Miami film chicks – Andrea and Walyce - ran off to film in Prague; Barb went off with Jorge to the Andes; Shasha split to go do a music festival she has organized in China – she is trying to get The Jacks to play there to support earthquake relief efforts next year; etc., etc.)

Anyway, these are just a few of the whole bunch of lame excuses I could come up with for not writing at least a note about the shows in Lima before now . . .

We had just a fantastic time in Peru! We got down there on the Thursday morning, off the red-eye from Miami. We hit the ground running as soon as we had bailed Shasha out of threatened deportation and ran over to the Plus TV studios – past the billboards of us on the highway - to shoot our second Lima prime-time show. (See note below). We were playing on TV twice a day while we were there – both the “Sonidos Del Mundo” show we had shot in Miami and “Odiosas” – which is kind of the Pervian “Oprah” - which we shot when we landed.

Along with the band, our three dancers and film crew, we had four roadies in their teens and twenties with us – by dint of offering to take them if their parents paid! So I had my two sons, Alexander and Cameron, with us, plus Martin Jensen, Trond’s son, and one of their friends, Chaille Stovall, as our road crew. (I have always said that success in music is not in having groupies, but in having roadies to shift the gear at the end of the night!) The lads did great! (Cameron drew a pretty stylish screen-villain mustache on me face on one of the billboards on the highway).

We were staying at the Swissôtel across the road from the concert hall – a super hotel which gave us a super-great rate because we were there for charity. Lovely people! The Friday night show was a good size house and the show was really well-received – but the Saturday night show seriously rocked and ended in a standing ovation!!!! We have never had bouquets of roses presented to us before!!!
Sunday was a catered reception on the roof-top terrace of Trond’s beach-side penthouse, with all the wonderful people who had made the concerts such a success. (I am not gonna start plugging in names for fear of forgetting one or two – but you know who you are and we love you all!). Then it was back to the airport for the red-eye back to Miami (‘Cept for Shasha, who went off for a few days at Machu Picchu – next time for us, maybe).

As we got to immigration we saw our old friend, Mr. Espindola, who had threatened to deport Shasha on the way in, he waved me over to his desk, smiling, and asked where the Chinese one was, and started stamping us out. Right about then, another immigration agent ran over and started gabbling something about the Jonas Brothers going the “wrong way.” “No, no” said Mr. Espindola, tiredly, “Los Jacks. Concertos a beneficos para Pisco.”

We found out when we were joined by Jack Shawde down the hall, that he had been in another line and had tried to make small-talk with his immigration agent – in his very limited Spanish - who had a picture of the Jonas Brothers propped up at her desk. “Ah, the Jonas Brothers,” said Jack, nodding and smiling. Little did we know that at the very hour we were leaving, the Bros. Jonas were landing, and immigration was on super alert to deal with these V.I.P.s. She took one look at Jack, frayed jeans, Diesel leather jacket, earrings, guitar in case – and bolted for help. “Agghh! The Jonas Brothers were going the wrong way! How could they be leaving!!!”

The Lan Peru flight attendants knew who we were because they had seen us on TV and the guitars all got to ride up front in the first-class cabin. (Yaayyyy!!!!)

So, back in Miami and planning all sorts of neat stuff. Back to Peru to raise a chunk more money when we can catch our breath. (We cleared nearly $50,000 for the clinic, just from ticket sales). We have 40 hours of film being edited. We will post some when it has been digested. Got a fundraiser being planned at Gusman Hall in downtown Miami in the fall for Jackson Memorial Hospital; and another fundraiser for the U. of Miami Sylvester Center. (Two parts of a personal pledge I made when my better-nine-tenths, Pippa was in Jackson M. for a very scary month last year). And maybe we will play a few shows just for ourselves!

Good to be back.

Slainte!

Henk

Hi Guys!

A note from Lima, Peru.

All sixteen of us – band, dancers, videographers, roadies - pulled in to Lima on the red-eye this morning.

At 4:30, a.m. fifteen of us had cleared immigration – and our sixteenth, Shasha, traveling with a Chinese passport and a U.S. green card, with approval for an artist visa showing on the immigration computer screen, was being threatened with deportation on the next plane out!

A nail-biting four hours followed because, basically, no fiddler: no shows. Andrea, one of our videographers, fluent in Spanish and full of charm, volunteered to stay with me and Shasha.

Somewhere behind the barriers, our men in Lima, Jorge Vera, the Irish Consul, Mike Russel, and a man of infinite resource and sagacity known only as “The Shadow,” were working the phones.

By 6:30 a.m., a somber Mr. Espindola, at immigration in the airport, had been convinced that something positive might happen when the main office downtown opened at 8:30 a.m. and delivered us into the custody of two charming ladies from LAN Peru – Haydee & Giovanna - who took us off to a café for breakfast.

Eventually, the Director of the Ministry of the Exterior called the General at Immigration and we were called down to see Mr. Espindola again – now smiling - who stamped Shasha in for 90 days. (We all only got 30!)

After that, the rest of the day was a blast. We saw Mabela from the “Sonidos Del Mundo” show we had shot in Miami, at Plus TV. We played a super-popular prime-time TV show - “Odiosas,” with hosts Astrid and Almendra – at 4:00 p.m. We did an interview with them, mainly in our broken but undaunted Spanish, played “Star of The County Down” and “Toss the Feathers” for the Breffni Dancers – who were totally fab. Then back to the auditorium for an acoustic rehearsal and to check out placement of amps, monitors, lights and staging with Bo Ichikawa’s Sound & Light crew.

First show tomorrow night!

Henk
The Three Jacks and The Gang

PARA DISTRIBUCIÓN INMEDIATA:

El grupo Americano, The Three Jacks, anuncia conciertos a beneficio el, 15 y 16, de mayo 2009, en Lima. La banda Irish-Rock, The Three Jacks, y bailarinas del Breffni Academy de Danza irlandesa recaudan fondos para la comunidad de Pisco, Perú.

El aclamado grupo norteamericano de rock – Celta- Irlandés, The Three Jacks, acompañados con las bailarinas del Breffni Academy de Danza-Irlandesa, se presentan en concierto el viernes, 15, y sábado, 16 de mayo, a las 7:00 p.m.

Los conciertos se celebrarán en el Auditorio Santa Ursula, Calle Santo Toribio 150, San Isidro. Boletos a la venta en, S/.50, S/.75, 105 y S/.135 soles en TeleTicket -Wong y en línea, www.teleticket.com.pe
The Three Jacks hacen esta gira a beneficio de las familias de Pisco afectadas por el terremoto de Agosto del, 2007.

Henk Milne es el líder-cantante-compositor de los Three Jacks. Henk es un músico que ha actuado en conciertos y grabaciones musicales tradicionales Celtas- Irlandesas. Fusionadas con ritmos rock. Uniéndose al grupo en esta gira está la virtuosa violinista , Shasha Zang de la República de China. Shasha ha participado en conciertos y grabaciones con estrellas internacionales como, Andrea Bocelli, Sir James Galway, y en tour con el grupo Gaelic Storm del film Titanic.

Patrocinado por el Consulado General de Irlanda, y el Real Consulado General de Noruega en Miami.

Por primera vez en Lima. Acompañados por las bailarinas principales del Breffni Academy de Danza Irlandesa. El grupo presenta una interpretación musical de composiciones tradicionales Escocesas- Celtas, e Irlandesas de los siglos;diecisiete y dieciocho.

100% de los fondos recaudados por los conciertos serán íntegramente donados a la construcción del Policlínico "Paul Harris"- Pisco. del Rotary Club, Lima-Sunrise de Miraflores.

Acompáñenos en dos inolvidables noches de diversión al estilo Celta-Irlandés y para apoyar la reconstrucción de la comunidad de Pisco.

Para más información, visite www.thethreejacks.com y www.rotary-limasunrise.com Contacto: Jorge Vera Du Bois al,9-9177-2665, o por correo electrónico a, jvimage@gmail.com

Hello Dearly Beloved Reader!

We need your help! Can you please take one whole minute to read this, and another minute to figure out who you should pass it on to?

We - Miami-based Celtic rockers, The Three Jacks, are on the run-up to a couple of 1,000-seat shows in Lima, Peru, on May 15 and 16, 2009 - with Irish step dancers in tow - to help raise money to build a clinic to treat children and their families in the Pisco area, which was devastated by the 2007 earthquake.

This is a 100% volunteer project. All costs have been covered and all proceeds from this point on will go towards building the clinic. Our U.S. sponsor is The Angels With A Mission Foundation. Our sponsoring agency in Lima, which is building the clinic, is The Rotary Club, Lima-Sunrise. (http://rotary-limasunrise.com/events.html)

We have had a lot of support from local and international business and from diplomatic officers of various countries: most notably The Norwegian Consul General here in Miami and the Irish Consul in Lima.

Publicity is going well.

We recently had a half-page article with a big picture in Lima's top glossy magazine, "Caretas." (Captioned “Los Jacks en Lima”).

Mabela Martinez, the host of the Lima TV show "Sonidos Del Mundo," and her producer, came to Miami last week and filmed a 30-minute segment at MBRS on the band and dancers. This will air for 7 nights running, on Canal 7, Lima prime-time, before the concerts.

We have also just done a super deal for 20 donated billboards around Lima.

Everything seems to be on track for a successful conclusion to this project.

But we need to sell 2,000 tickets (gulp!) and are asking every friend we have to do their best to help spread the word.

So if you have friends or family in Peru – or near Peru, or who once knew someone who owned a llama - please pass this on.

The link to Teleticket for online ticket purchases for the shows is:
http://www.teleticket.com.pe/tlk_Contenido_Consulta_Conciertos.asp?c_even=E3033
Tell ‘em that this is a great chance to have a really fun night out, for not much money, and go home with the warm fuzzy feeling that they made life just a little better for little kids still living in the ruins of what used to be home.

And if you really want to donate a few bucks online you can do so by going straight to our online donation page at http://www.firstgiving.com/jacks4kids
Slainte!

Henk
The Three Jacks

Hi All!

It’s been a while since we last broke radio silence!

You know how they say: “Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans?”

Well, it was August 2008, The Jacks & Jills had just played a sold-out show at The Arscht Performing Arts Center in Downtown Miami and were poised to start a tour of Peru to raise money to build medical centers to care for the children still living in the wreckage of the 2007 earthquake, when “life” suddenly tapped us on the shoulder.

Out of the blue, my better-nine-tenths, Pippa, was rushed off for very frightening and difficult emergency surgery. To cut a long and hair-raising story very short, after a series of crises, a long time in the ICU, a month in the hospital, and a few dozen doctor and therapists visits thereafter, life is now back to (comparatively) normal. Pip is back, large and in charge (well actually svelte and in charge) and is expected to be as good as new, eventually.

Truly heartfelt thanks to all our dozens of fabulous friends. All those who flew in from as far afield as England, Boston and Nashville to help look after Pippa when she first came home. And all those much nearer, who rallied round and looked after dogs, cats and children, and cooked and brought us dinner (sometimes with flowers and wine!) every night for literally months. We never knew we had so many fantastically generous, great-hearted friends. Thank you All!

So now, finally, The Jacks are re-loading for Peru. We have a couple of 1,000 seat shows in Lima scheduled for May 15 or 16. Click on “Shows” for details. Tickets for these shows are available through Teleticket online and at all Teleticket outlets in Lima at http://www.teleticket.com.pe/tlk_Contenido_Consulta_Conciertos.asp?c_even=E3033).

Any of you who have always wanted to see Machu Picchu, the Nasca lines, etc., etc., this is your chance to come down and party with The Jacks in Lima before stepping off for the deserts and mountains!!!

Our fabulous fiddler, Mr. Stamates, can't make this one and we will be joined by the wonderful Shasha Zhang. (Hmmmm, by my count that's two Jacks and four Jills for Lima!

We are planning to return to Peru for shows in Chincha later in the year. And we are working on doing a big, very personal "Thank You" fundraiser for one of Miami's real treasures: Jackson Memorial Hospital.