Stephen Lee Rich

Mark Foley Whatever one may feel about Mr. Foley’s antics or the Republican leadership’s non-response to it, it must be remembered that had the Democrats been in power at the time, and had one of their own been caught doing such a thing, the situation would have been nearly identical. The Democratic leadership would have turned the same blind eye to the activity until it was too late. Then they would have done the same dithering semi-denials that we have seen from the Republicans so far. The…

I started learning the skills of an M.C. back in the late 1970’s hosting a twice weekly showcase night at a comedy club in Chicago called Kobart’s Komedy Kove. Since then I have M.C.’d open mics, acoustic jams, and folk festivals. Since moving to Madison, WI, in late 1994, I have had no trouble finding regular work using those skills. Last night (3 June 2006), at Escape Java Joint and Gallery’s open mic was one of the most remarkable experiences I have had in thirty-some-odd years as an M.C…

What can you say about an open mic that, in its four year history, has presented, on any given night, a didgeridoo, two hammered dulcimers, a woman who plays Elvis and Buddy Holly tunes on a pennywhistle, comedy, poetry, has launched at least one songwriting career, has provided a place for countless other working professionals to break in new material, has introduced a couple to one another who are now married, and is hosted by a yodeling cowboy Well, we have a heck of a good time, for a start.…

I hate saying, “Goodbyeâ€. For the past two years I have had the pleasure of running an open mic at a little place in Madison, Wisconsin called Urban Market and Coffeehouse. On Friday December 2nd, 2005, at the conclusion of the open mic, Urban Market closed its doors for the last time. We’ve tried to create an atmosphere in which people can comfortably perform, relax, and grow. We evidently succeeded. Aaron Nathans who edits the monthly newsletter of the Madison Songwriter’s Group called us…

One of the very few things that I know anything about in this world is performing. For whatever it's worth I submit the folowing blog entry. I'm going to make it the first of a series Performing 101 There are millions of people or schools offering lessons on how to play an instrument, dance, sing, write songs, or tell jokes. There are countless workshops, books, dvd’s, cd-rom’s, and, for all I know, statuarey and samplers designed to instruct people in the “performing artsâ€. There is…

On Saturday Oct.8th Ingrid Frances Stark and I were married. I had promised several people who could not make the ceremony that I would post the story of what happened Where should I begin? So much happened. Let’s begin with almost being left at the altar – by the minister! The wedding was scheduled for 1:00pm. The minister had it written in his date book as being at 4:00 . Ingrid’s brother managed to scare up the minister’s cell phone number and called him. He finally showed up at five…

Chicken Soup For The Cannibalistic Chicken It isn’t the passage time that causes the anxiety. It’s the mud that it tracks into the house (usually across that new carpeting in the front hall). It’s that little touch of gray that you find in your hair or beard; that horrifying moment when you see one of you parents staring back at you from the mirror; the realization the your belly has mysteriously transformed from washboard to washtub. So, you color your hair or beard (or both), stop…

We’re all in this together. We are each part of the great whole of humanity. I have always believed this. Whatever changes happen in or to the world this remains true My maternal grandmother, Genevieve Bullen, passed away in January of 2004. She was born in November of 1901. It is almost frightening to contemplate the number of changes that she saw in her lifetime. She saw the world go from horses and buggies to re-usable spacecraft. When I was thinking about that a couple of days ago it dawned…

Just for the sake of variety, here's something a little different Frog Fight No frogs were waiting on the front porch to greet Winthrop when he got home from school on Tuesday. The frogs had been there to greet him every day for as long as he could remember (given that he was only seven years old, however, that wasn’t a heck of a long time). Though he called and croaked for hours, no frogs came . Winthrop was very disappointed. Where were they? Why had they stayed away?…

As mentined on the home page I'm getting married in October to Ingrid Frances Stark. We met several years ago when I was hosting the Open Mic at Mother Fool's Coffeehouse in Madison, WI If I have the timing right, that means that we must have met when I was still married to Pat Lisle (who passed away in January of 2002). My earliest memory of Ingrid is from just after I became the regular host of the Open Mic at the now defunct Speed Jump Java Joint (how's THAT for a coffehouse name) in Madison. From…