BILL'S COFFEESHOP NEWSLETTER * VOL. 11 * JANUARY 28, 2011

FIRST SIGN THAT

WINTER WILL END 

I HEARD a bird outside my window this morning. It was not a chickadee. They often stay for the winter. Or a robin. They are not due back for awhile. But it was a bird, a bird singing very early in the day. 

I took it as a sign, a sign that winter will end. Of course, there are likely to be several more snowstorms (especially in March). And it may still get down to zero a couple more times.

But there was a bird singing. And that gave me hope.

How about you? Have you seen (or heard) any signs that winter will come to an end?

GREAT MUSIC EVERY

SATURDAY NIGHT

Saturday nights at 7 pm. That's the time for weekly concerts by local musicians at Uptown Bill's. Here's a look at what's coming up:

Feb.5:               Acoustic Mayhem

Feb. 12:            Slewgrass

Feb. 19:            The Awful Purdies      (3pm family show)

Feb. 26:             Mutiny in the Parlor

March 5:            Dave Moore

March 12:           Joe Brisben & John McNamara

March 19:           Tim Roberson / Phil Gabe

March 26:           Truckstop Souvenir

April 2:                Dunlavin Green

For updates, check the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook. Also look for information about concerts on other nights.

LIVE TV BROADCAST

COMING FEB. 22

Tom's Guitar Show will be broadcast live from Uptown Bill's on Tuesday, Feb. 22. You are invited to be part of the studio audience. The show is from 6 to 7 pm. Click on this web link for film of a previous show broadcast from Bill's: http://patv.tv/blog/2010/10/21/toms-guitar-show-2.

10,000 PAGES

OF POETRY

Sackter House Media, one of the enterprises which makes up Uptown Bill's, hosted a poetry marathon from July through October last year. The result was a 10,000 page book of poetry. For a look at the book and more details, visit the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook.

LOOKING BACK AT

THE COFFEESHOP

Visit the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop on Facebook for a look at a 1983 story about Wil Bill's which was published in the Milwaukee Journal.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE

ORIGINAL COFFEESHOP

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop in North Hall is the place where Bill Sackter worked. He was there from 1975 until his death in 1983. The original coffeeshop remains. It's staffed by individuals with disabilities and open weekdays from 8 am. Uptown Bill's, established in 2001, grew out of that original coffeeshop. For a short video tour of Wild Bill's, visit Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop on Facebook. 

READERS HAVE THEIR SAY

ABOUT COFFEE SONGS

Lots of interesting responses to the recent request for coffee songs...

Kelly Fries wrote to suggest we include the Anniversary Song by the Cowboy Junkies.

"I have known all these things, and the joys that they can bring. An I will share them all for a cup of coffee and to wear your ring." 

She also suggested Black Coffee in Bed by Ernie Halter: "The stain on my notebook remains, all that's left of a memory of late night coffee in bed."

Tim Cornish offered One More Cup of Coffee by Bob Dylan: "One more cup of coffee for the road. One more cup of coffee before I go." 

David Leshtz submitted the frenetic Coffee, Coffee, Coffee by Tom T. Hall: "Make it warm and make it sweet, just the way my life has been. Give me coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee. And let me tell you, you have found yourself a friend." 

Elton Davis offered two songs: Java, an instrumental by trumpeter Al Hirt and No Sugar Tonight by the Guess Who: No sugar tonight in my coffee, no sugar tonight in my tea.

Carol Anderson Fischer didn't have a song. But she thought the sign on her wall would fit. It reads: Perk Me Up."

Thanks to all who wrote. We'll do this again later in the year.

WHAT ABOUT 

NEW CUPID?

How about giving Cupid a makeover? For some thoughts on that idea, visit the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook. Then add your own comments. 

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Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open weekdays from 8 am. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.

Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in it 10th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open every day from 8 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's page on Facebook. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0401. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible.