Welcome to the Oracle News and
Information page! This page will tell you about all of the latest
happenings within the band...upcoming public performances, special offers, photos from
recent shows, tidbits on the individual members, and much more. We hope our
fans will bookmark this page and return often
to find out the latest news, information, and, well, yes, gossip, that
we've picked up.
Upcoming Performances for
August 2010
Oracle Returns to Whispers
On Friday August 27th Oracle will be
returning to Whispers Restaurant in Glen Burnie Maryland for a night of
food, drink, music, dancing, and FUN!!!
Whispers is always a blast. They offer fine food, a spacious room, an
elevated stage that can be seen from almost everywhere in the room, and a
house PA that distributes the sound evenly throughout.
Whispers offers folks an excellent opportunity to come out as a group to
celebrate special events like birthdays, anniversaries, bachelorette
parties, and other special occasions. It's like hiring a band for your
event without having to pay for one! Just call Whispers in advance and
let them know how many people you are expecting. They can set aside an
area for you to ensure that your group is able to sit together.
We
do ask that if you do schedule an event like this you make sure the majority
of your guests arrive before the band starts to play at 9:00. There is
nothing more frustrating than to have folks looking for a seat and seeing a
large area of unattended "reserved" seats when you're looking for a place to
sit. Better still, how about coming out early and having dinner?
The food is really good, the appetizers are filling as well, and you'll get
a great spot to watch the show!
Regardless of whether you're coming with a group or not, we encourage
everyone planning on coming out to call for reservations. Oracle
performances at Whispers tend to fill up quickly, and for those seeking a
good seat near the dance floor a quick phone call ahead can make a world of
difference.
Call 410-768-3900 to make your reservations.
While
you're at it, if you are coming out for a special occasion, contact us and
let us know you're coming. We'll be happy to acknowledge the occasion
properly, whether it's by dedicating a special song, singing "Happy
Birthday", coordinating a cake, or whatever.
Whispers is really easy to get to. It's located just off Route 100 in
Anne Arundel County, near the intersection of Mountain Rd. and
Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd. It is only 15 minutes from downtown
Baltimore, and less than a half hour from Columbia, Annapolis, Catonsville,
Laurel, Pasadena, and Odenton.
Whispers is a regular stop on the Oracle Band public performing schedule.
We have over five years of photos dating back to our first performance there
just after it had opened. You can see just how much fun everyone has,
and how the performances have evolved over the past five years.
Tickets Now On Sale for 1st Annual
Oracle Halloween Party
On Saturday, October 30th
The details
have been worked out, and we are thrilled to announce
that Oracle will be hosting our very own Halloween Party this year.
This is gonna be a big one, and we are REALLY excited!
The party will be held at the Severn / Glen Burnie Elks
Lodge Hall, located on Stevenson Rd in Severn very near Glen Burnie.
This is a BIG hall, so there will be plenty of space for everyone to get out
& dance, & show off their costumes.
The dance floor is huge, so there will be more than enough room for
everyone, including those of you who really like to flip & twirl without
crashing into someone!
This is a project we have been wanting to do for many years, and following
up on the success of last New Years we figured this was as good a time as
any to throw our own party!
Tickets are only $15 per person and must be ordered in advance. We've
worked hard to keep the price as low as possible so all our fans can attend.
Start getting those costumes together as the competition will be fierce for
one of the three prizes for Scariest, Funniest, and Most Original Costumes.
We will be offering a $100 prize for the winners of each costume category.
We'll be able to comfortably seat 300 people with a huge dance floor, so
there will be lots of space for everyone. We're hoping for a sellout
of course, so we would strongly encourage everyone to order your tickets
today, and please make sure to pass the word to your friends that this is a
party that simply should not be missed!
One thing is "dead" certain. It's gonna be FUN!!!
Packed House At American Legion Post 175
What
a fun evening! For some reason it took until August this year to book
our first performance back at the American Legion Post 175 in Severna Park
Maryland.
It was rather astonishing to see the size of the crowd that came out on a
summer evening in August to party with us at the Legion. The summer
months are typically a lot slower what with so many people at the beach or
out on vacation, so it was so very gratifying to see the club packed with
fans who haven't had a chance to hear us for a while.
Special mention needs to go out to our good friend Bud who was there with
friends celebrating his birthday.
Having
recently moved back to the area from South Dakota, it was cool to have him
and Val back with us, although he still pines for the great open spaces he
left behind!
They were bringing extra tables and chairs up from the downstairs to
accommodate the crowd, and the dance floor was rocking all evening long.
Check out the photos and relive the evening! Thanks again to everyone
who came out, & we hope to see you again real soon!
We'll be returning to Post 175 on Friday, September 17th. The show
will start at 8:00 and goes to midnight.
Order Tickets Today for
American Legion Post 40 Auxiliary
Fundraiser Dinner / Dance
Tickets
are now on sale for the big Auxiliary fundraiser party at the American
Legion Post 40 in Glen Burnie Maryland.
The event will be held on Saturday, October 9th. The doors will open
at 6:30 pm, the buffet dinner will open at 7:00, and the band will start the
dancing at 8:00 and ply up until midnight.
The proceeds from this event will go to benefit the many wonderful ongoing
programs that are sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary.
Best of all, tickets for this event are only $20!!! That's right, for
only $20 you can have dinner, beer/wine/sodas, plus dance the night away to
the great dance music of the past 60 years or so.
They
will also have a 50-50, raffles, and a money wheel going on, plus several
door prizes.
At this incredibly low price tickets are certain to sell out quickly.
We urge all Oracle fans to call the Legion at (410) 761-9869 to reserve your
tickets TODAY! Please don't wait...we hate it when we get calls at the
last minute looking for tickets and we have to disappoint people because an
event is sold out.
American Legion Post 40 is very easy to get to. It's located just off
Route 2 (Ritchie Highway) on the south side of Glen Burnie. You can be
there in under 30 minutes from most locations around Annapolis, Baltimore,
Laurel, Columbia, Pasadena, and of course all our friends down in Odenton!
Oracle Performs for Thousands at
Laurel Independence Day Concert
On
Saturday, July 3rd Oracle returned for the third time to headline the annual
City of Laurel Independence Day Concert and Fireworks.
Held at Granville-Gude Park at Laurel Lakes in Laurel Maryland, the event
draws anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 people each year.
It seems that the City of Laurel has become our adopted hometown lately.
We opened the Montpelier Summer Concert Series a few weeks ago, (the first
band to ever repeat a performance for this very popular series). Later
on this year, on August 13th Oracle will once again return to Laurel Lakes
for a Summer in the Parks Concert.
Sandwiched between these two performances was the Fourth of July concert
(held on the 3rd of July...it's always the Saturday closest to the Fourth).
The spectacularly sunny day started out with a car show on the top of the
hill overlooking
the lake, where some classic muscle cars of days gone by mingled with other
classics that brought back fond memories.
As the opening ceremonies got under way, Veronica and Nikki sang the
National Anthem a capella for the Mayor (shown on the right with Veronica &
Nikki), honored guests, assorted politicians, and the assembled crowd as the
honor guard raised the flag and then dipped it in honor of Senator Robert
Byrd, who had recently passed away.
Oracle fans began to arrive around 4:30 to stake out the best spots from
which to catch the concert and the fireworks. It was such a pleasure
to see so many familiar faces...many of whom we have not seen for quite some
time.
We started the performance at 5:00 and for the next four hours (with a
single brief intermission), we ran through a huge variety of favorites
ranging from the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy to Neil Diamond to Lady GaGa, plus
a whole host of other new material Nikki has prepared, including songs by
Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, and Ke$ha.
We are hoping that we will be returning for another performance next
year...we'll know for sure sometime in the next few months. In the
meantime, we can kick back and enjoy the moments from this past year's
performance.
You can add your comments to the photos by visiting our
FaceBook page.
What...you're not on FaceBook??? Get signed up TODAY...it's FREE and
easy!!! You can also view, comment on, and download the photos by
visiting the
Flickr Page.
Tickets on Sale For
Luau Dinner & Dance
Break
out those Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts, and get ready for an evening of
tropical pleasures as Oracle performs at the Columbian Center in Severna
Park for an old fashioned luau!
The party will be held on Saturday, September 18th at the Columbian Center
in Severna Park. Doors open around 6:30 and dinner is at 7:00.
The band will hit the stage at 8:00 and the party will go right up to
midnight.
We're looking forward to this one...it's been a long time since we've done a
luau, and we're long overdue, particularly since Nikki was actually BORN in
Hawaii!
There will be a scrumptious dinner followed by dancing, a hula troop will
perform during the band's break, and then we'll be back to play while
everyone dances the night away.
Tickets are on sale now. They are $35 per person if purchased in
advance, and $40 at the door. A table of ten is $315 in advance and $360 at
the door.
Beer, wine, & sodas are included in the ticket price. Other drinks are
available from a cash bar.
To purchase your tickets call Jim Esposito at 410-315-7533.
The Columbian Center is very easy to get to. It's located right on
Route 2 (Richie Highway), just north of Benfield Blvd and south of Route
100.
This is going to be one heck of a party. Perhaps instead of luau it
should be spelled Loo-WOW, because it's going to WOW your socks right off
onto the sand!
See you there!
Mother Nature Cooperates as Oracle Opens
Montpelier Summer Concert Series
It was a beautiful evening for a summertime concert in the park, and a crowd
of several hundred came out to listen, sing along, and even dance to the
sounds of Oracle on the grounds of the historic Montpelier Mansion in Laurel
Maryland.
It is our understanding that this was the first time in the 32 year history
of the concert series that a band has been invited to return for an encore
performance, and we were thrilled to accept the offer to perform.
Oracle has a long tradition of performances for the folks in Laurel, from
the Montpelier Mansion concerts to the Fourth of July to the summer concert
series at Laurel Lakes.
Many thanks go out to Diane Sills and the rest of the South Laurel
Recreation Council for inviting us back to perform. This is such a
unique venue with plenty of space for everyone to spread out, bring a picnic
dinner, and enjoy the show.
We got to see a lot of familiar faces out in the audience, and just as
importantly we got to meet a number of new friends who enjoyed the show and
came up afterwards to let us know how much they enjoyed the evening.
Our trumpet player Steve even had a former classmate from his high school
graduating class stop by to check out the band, and bassist Jim had one of
his co-workers out in the audience.
You can check out all of the photos we got from the evening at the
Montpelier Mansion 2010 Concert Series Photo Gallery. You can also
view them on the band's
FaceBook Page where you can tag you and your
friends, as well as comment on the various photos. You can also click
below to see a slide show of the photos that we have hosted on Flickr, and
you may also comment on the photos at that site.
Check
out the Fun From Whispers
We had so much fun recently at Whispers Restaurant & Nightclub in Glen
Burnie Maryland.
The summer months typically start to slow down a bit, but on this hot
Saturday night at Whispers things were was anything but slow. It was a
full house and then some as folks came out to party and dance with the band.
We had lots of groups come out celebrating special occasions. We
had a number of birthdays, a special anniversary, as well as a number of
special friends join us, including one who, though "somewhat" underage, was
having the time of her life!
We were really pleased that so many folks
commented on our new lighting system that has added to the excitement of the
show. The stage at Whispers is so spacious we're really able to move
around & put on the best show possible without bumping elbows!
You can also view the photos on our
Facebook page, where you
can also tag yourself and your friends, as well as comment on the individual
photos. Feel free to upload any photos YOU took from the evening as
well!
Oracle will be returning to Whispers on Friday, July 23rd, so mark your
calendar.
Great Night At American Legion Post 195
The
band was recently invited to perform for a fundraiser at American Legion
Post 195 in Halethorpe / Baltimore Highlands.
While we had heard of the club before we have not
actually performed there, so we were looking forward to this performance
with anticipation.
We were not disappointed. The facility itself is
spacious and offers a HUGE dance floor. As for the attendees, well,
members of the American Legion, the Sons of the American Legion, and the
Legion Auxiliary are simply the best. The hall was totally packed!
We had a really nice turnout from our friends from
American Legion Post 40 in Glen Burnie...thanks so much to all of you for
coming out.
The dinner was great, the beer was flowing, & once the
band kicked things off the dance floor filled up fast.
We'd like to thank the folks at the Legion for inviting
us out, and we hope we're able to return to your wonderful facility really
soon! You all were fantastic!!!
Oracle Rocks Perry's In Odenton
On
Friday May 28th Oracle returned to Perry's Restaurant for a night of music,
dancing, and quite a few surprise visitors.
The biggest surprise came as Oracle's former bassist
Glenn Jones and his wife Susan popped in with some friends for dinner & to
catch the first set. It was really fun catching up on old times and
hearing how successful they continue to be.
Of course it would unthinkable not to get Glenn back on
stage to do a song, so Jim kindly leant Glenn his bass to do "Don't Let The
Sun Go Down", the classic tune by Elton John, which we performed in the duet
version as recorded by Elton John and George Michel.
Then
there was the return of Veronica's adopted "sista". Ron and Carla have
been coming to Oracle performances for many years, and unfortunately they
have been on the missing roster for a while, so it was really comforting to
see them back on the dance floor together. We missed you guys!!!
Steve's classmate from high school returned for an encore
performance as well. Steve & Denise graduated from Northwestern High
school in Hyattsville together back in 1973, (yes...Richard Nixon was still
president!)
We had so many other friends come out it would be unfair
to try and name them all for fear of leaving someone out. They know
who they are and they know that we appreciate their presence, even if it's
only for a little while. Seeing a packed dance floor all evening long
are the rewards we get for what we do.
Oracle will be returning to Perry's again on Friday, July
16th.
New Performance Dates For
American Legion Post 175
For
those of you who have been asking when we will be returning to the lounge at
the American Legion Post 175 in Severna Park, we now have your answer.
We have booked three dates between now and the end of the year.
The first will be on Friday, August 6th.
Please note that we have a new start time at the Legion. All
performances at Post 175 will begin at 8:00 pm and end roughly around 12:00.
See our Calendar Page for information on the
other dates we've booked at Post 175, as well as all of our other public
performance dates.
2010 Chocolate Ball - A Huge Success!
On
March 6th Oracle performed for one of our favorite benefits, supporting
adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Affectionately known as the "Chocolate Ball", it benefits the Arc of
Howard County's ongoing programs. The event is held each year at the
Kossiakoff Center at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Columbia
Maryland. The theme this year was "Going Green."
This was the fourth consecutive year that Oracle has been invited to
perform for this event, and each year it gets bigger and better. The
band's setup for the event started around 10:00 in the morning, and we just
got the last light focused as the guests began to arrive at 6:00 that
evening.
Cake
designers and confectioners from all over the area compete for the "People's
Choice" award, for the most unique cake. The entries were
stunning...it's hard to imagine how they actually put these things together
with just cake & icing, but all we can say is WOW! The People's Choice
winner was the group from Howard County Community College, with a
magnificent cake that seems to defy gravity. You can see it here on
the right.
Over 400 people were in attendance this year with a long waiting list of
folks wishing to contribute and obtain tickets. The food was
unbelievable, and the atmosphere was electric.
Once the music started the dance floor didn't stop until the last note
was played. These folks LOVE to dance, and it looked really great to
watch from stage as folks danced and twirled together in their formal wear.
Oracle has already been asked to return for the benefit in 2011, and we
are thrilled to be a part of it, and are eagerly anticipating an even bigger
event for that one. In the meantime, we can reflect back on this past
year with a BUCH of photos we took during the course of the performance.
The photos can be seen at the
2010
Chocolate Ball Photo Gallery, or you can view them on
Facebook if you're a member there, (and we highly recommend you sign
up...it's FREE)!
Hey...one final thing. Here's a pretty cool YouTube time lapse
video of the setup and performance...ten hours condensed into two minutes.
New Years 2009 / 2010 at
Four Points by Sheraton BWI
- Oh What A Night!
All
the planning, all the prep work. It's hard to believe it's over
already. We have officially welcomed 2010 in, said farewell to 2009,
and welcomed a new decade into being.
We kind of had a suspicion that this was going to be a unique performance
as we kept getting updates from the folks over at the Four Points by
Sheraton BWI hotel, where the event was being held, to the effect that
ticket sales were brisk, even in August! By October we were told the
main ballroom had already sold out, and that they were still getting calls.
A second ballroom was opened to allow us to admit more fans. It
wasn't ideal of course, but a live video feed was put into the room and
additional entertainment was scheduled, and the event continued to grow.
The
final achievement for the evening was the addition of a silent auction,
where 100% of the proceeds were donated to the USO at BWI.
BWI Airport is a hub for many of our troops rotating in and out of the
country.
The addition of this very special portion of the evening served to remind
everyone that while we are were partying and ringing in the new year, our
service man and women are still overseas putting their lives on the line so
we have this opportunity. It was only fitting that we do something to
honor their sacrifices, and to have a great USO office at BWI is a great
gesture.
It
should be noted that the USO receives no funding from the federal
government. It is financed solely through contributions, and we are
thrilled to have played some small part.
About a half hour after midnight a presentation was made on stage of a
check for $4225.00 for the USO, We couldn't have been more pleased.
Many thanks go out to the folks that bid on the items, and a HUGE than you
goes out to the individuals and businesses that donated the items for
auction.
And then there was the party! There's not much more we can say
other than...WOW! So many friends came out it was like old home week.
Faces we see every month, and faces we haven't seen for years...they were
all there at the same time.
So
we ended up with 300 or so of our best fans out on the dance floor for the
whole evening. The dance floor was packed all evening long, and at the
stroke of midnight, as we closed out "Auld Lang Syne", the stage was rushed
with well-wishers such as we've never seen before. It was truly
heartwarming!
OK...so Steve was a little late getting into the greeting part...the
balloon drop on his side got snagged & he almost pulled down the truss
trying to get it loose, but hey...that's minor stuff that makes for a fun
story later on!
Another fun "rush" was looking to either side of the room and seeing us
bigger than life on the screens at either end of the room displaying the
video feed. OK, so it may not seem like much, but it really was fun.
Or, you can get even more interactive and go over to our
New Years Photos Facebook Page and comment on the various photos, tag
your friends that appear in the shots, and comment on the evening in
general. Tell us your stories, how your evening went. You can
also give us suggestions on how we can make next year even better. We
love to hear from you all. Our
Facebook Page is really
starting to take flight. You can even upload your own photos that
you've taken of the band or at Oracle Band performances.
To ALL of our Oracle Family members, we would like to
wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year, with all of our best
wishes for a safe and prosperous 2010.
Oracle Performs for Northern Anne Arundel
Chamber of Commerce Presidential Banquet
The winter of 2009-2010
proved to be one of the coldest and snowiest
(is that a word?) in the state's history. We have been fortunate that
most of the weekends that have had the bad snow we haven't been performing,
(although there was that ONE wedding in December that saw half the band
stuck in the show trying to reach the gig, but we digress).
The end of January saw the snow coming down once again, and the band was
heading up the BW Parkway to the Hilton at BWI Airport for the annual
Northern Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce's Presidential Gala, a black tie
awards banquet recognizing the best businesses and their representatives in
the county.
The Parkway was pretty snow covered, but certainly passable. Other
roads were similarly slippery but not dangerous.
We got all the way in, set up, and the word came down that Maryland had
issued warnings for people to stay off the roads.
Of course a snowfall like this in Denver, Buffalo, Topeka or Wichita
would hardly merit a mention at the end of the weather report, but in
Maryland the weather prognosticators seem to revel in the spotlight they
create whenever the first flurries are spotted.
Fortunately the men and women that make up the business community of Anne
Arundel County aren't as easily intimidated by a bit of snow, and before
long the word came down that the party was still on.
Hotel staff were busy breaking down some of the tables as they were
naturally figuring that there would be a significant reduction in the number
of attendees. An hour later these tables were going back UP as the
crowd started pouring in dressed in their finest gowns and snow boots!
All things being considered, the evening was a smash success. Many
thanks go out to the business leaders in Anne Arundel who know how to have a
great party. The room was still full at the end of the evening, and we
actually went over just a bit to honor those last minute requests.
Oracle is On Facebook and MySpace
(...and YouTube)!
Fans of these major social networking sites may rejoice...Oracle has
caught up with the 21st century and now has a presence on MySpace and
Facebook!
Each of these sites will have our public performance schedule, photos, audio
samples, blogs, and more, as we continue to develop them.
Both sites have unique qualities to offer our fans. In some
cases this might be simply a way to distribute information on upcoming
performances.
For others, the allure of the posted blogs is a major attraction.
We would like to invite everyone that already has a Facebook or MySpace
account to head over to the respective sites and join us either as a
"Friend" (MySpace), or a "Fan", (Facebook).
Those that would like to share their photos of the band are welcome to
post them to our page...photo posting is enabled.
And then there is YouTube. While not strictly a social networking
site, it does offer the opportunity to share video clips of the band that
are rather fun to watch.
We'll be adding more of these as time goes by, but for now, here's one
from a wedding we did recently with Nikki singing the Journey classic "Don't
Stop Believin".
What's Your Favorite Place To Hear Oracle Perform?
We'd love to hear from all of our fans who
come out to hear us on a regular basis, and find out which places you all
prefer to come hear us perform. No personal information is
saved...your vote is completely anonymous.
The Oracle Band electronic
newsletter is our best means for letting our fans know when and where we'll
be performing, as well as offering them an opportunity to take advantage of
some special opportunities during the course of the year.
Short reminders are send
prior to most of our public performances, and every other month or so we
send out a more detailed newsletter letting everyone know what's been
happening with the band, including photos and lots of links to fun stuff.
If you're not already
receiving our newsletter, how about subscribing right now? It takes
about 30 seconds.
Break
out those Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts, and get ready for an evening of
tropical pleasures as Oracle performs at the Columbian Center in Severna
Park for an old fashioned luau!
