As a matter of fact, I DO know everybody...

Just a quick post this week to relay a funny story.  Friday night I went to go check out some folks in a band I met a few weeks ago.  The band, Take 147 who does mostly rock covers and a few originals features Greta on guitar and lead vocals, Amber on bass and bongos, (sexy haircut) Patty on drums, (SQUISH HIM) and Mike on lead guitar.  They were playing at a lesbian bar called liquid.  (Not sure if that's PC or not, but that's what it was.)  There were a few guys there, not sure how many of us were straight, I think I can vouch for me and Eddie.  I walked in fresh from a gig, so I'm a bit over-dressed in my gray pin-strip suit.  The second I walked in, I had 2 girls come up and hug me.  "Hey, magician man!"  "Yeah, hey what's up ladies."  I replied.  Of course they asked what I'm doing there.  I guess they wanted me to make sure I didn't wander into a place where I thought I might pick up a date.  I explained that I knew the band and came to check them out.  After I grabbed a beer and sat at a table where Amber's girlfriend Amy was hanging out, I felt someone come behind me and kiss my cheek, then whisper in my ear "You know, this really isn't the place to try and pick up chicks."  I turn around and it's my friend Mary.  We dated for a few months, but like most relationships, I screwed that one up real good.  We're still good friends, although we're both so busy we hardly see each other.  She was out with friends celebrating her new job and someone asked if she'd mind going to see a band at this bar.  Mary seemed to have 4 or 5 cocktails in her by the time I saw her.  After introducing her to Amy and her friend Mary went to get another drink, (lush).  Amy leaned over and asked about her, I explained that we used to date.  Amy's eyes lit up and asked "Is she gay?"  I just had to laugh and explain that I have this thing about bumping into people in the weirdest places.  In fact that night, about 4 total.  6 degrees of seperation?  Try 2 with me.

Back in the swing....

This week was interesting.  No beauty pageants, but fun all the same.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras.  Fat Tuesday, or as I call it Tuesday.  (Damn I love that.)  I was invited to perform for students at Penn State Harrisburg during lunch hour.  The whole atmosphere was very festive.  There was a great dixieland band and jambalaya and king cakes were on the menu for lunch.  Students didn't really have any idea there would be a magician, so I was just a little bonus.  All the students really seemed to enjoy my performance, and the band was really great. Fun time had by all.

Thursday morning, my killer cold from right after New Year's came back.  I swear, I honestly think I have the plague.  I had to heavily medicate myself for 2 shows this weekend.  The magic was pretty easy, I can pretty much do that with my eyes closed.  Saturday night's swing gig was a bit more of a challenge.

Friday night, I had a wonderful evening at my home away from home, Scott's Grille.  A pretty average night.  A few large parties made my evening a lot of fun.  Especially a quartet of diners in their late 50's early 60's.  One man let out several loud obscenities during my performance.  I often tell people, this is the greatest compliment.  Much more so than applause or stunned silence.  People are shocked and they forget proper decorum in a fancy restaurant.  

Saturday night, I was on stage with my horn and my buddies in The Encores Big Band. (encoresbigband.com)  It's a great band that has a light schedule so it fits in well with mine.  Saturday we were at the Valencia Ballroom in York, PA for a special Valentine's diner/dance.  So great to see people actually doing the proper dance steps to all these great old tunes.  One couple in particular had a really mean lindy-hop.  I had a special treat, during our last set, a lady came up to the stage and ask us to do a polka.  The rest of the band kind of laughed, I went nuts.  "Hell yeah, let's polka!"  I was tempted to put the horn down and go and show 'em how a fat guy from Pittsburgh can polka.  (It's a well known fact that when it comes to polka, I'm a bad mofo.)  We ripped though the beer barrel polka and boy the people loved it.  At our next gig, I may have a shill in the audience ask for a polka so I can go and dance.  Another fun part of the night came during our last tune, Things Ain't What They Used To Be, my buddy Jose' Johnson, (trumpet dude and kung-fu badass) shows off by soloing on trumpet and flugelhorn at the same time!  One horn in each hand, 2 measures, then switch.  Damn showoff.

Beauty queen judge...

This post is a bit overdue, but I think it's interesting.  

A few months ago, I got an email from my friend Kirk.  In addition to playing bass in a great jazz/ RnB band called Jazz Me, his "day job" (man I hate that term) is promoting racing events.  Specifically a genre known as "dirt trackin".  Yep, it's just what you think.  Cars racing in a track covered with dirt.  Now, I've never been a big fan of any kind of racing.  Nascar, Formula 1, whatever.  But Kirk is a buddy and is very supportive of my work so I said I would work his event.  It was a whole weekend at the York Fairgrounds called Dirt Trackin' Expo.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  There were local commercials running around the clock.  I had many friends call me and ask "Are you performing at some kind of tractor pull?"  "Yeah, something like that" I said.  I really had no idea.  It turns out it was sort of a trade show for dirt trackin enthusiasts.  There was plenty of memorabilia, cars, photos, and other stuff.  Of course, it was widely advertised that I would be strolling during the show.  A few days after we agreed I would perform at the show, Kirk drops me another email asking me to appear Friday night to be a judge.  I tell him sure, but I'm not really that much into racing; but whatever he wants.  "You're not judging cars dummy, you'll be judging the Miss Dirt Trackin' competition" he says. "Oh, THAT I can judge!"  It was actually a lot of fun.  Even though racing still isn't my thing, (I actually have a funny NASCAR joke) all the people were great.  The photo above shows me performing for the winner of the Miss Dirt Trackin' competition, Lindsay Krug and family.  Check out Kirk's band at www.jazzmeband.com

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, was my gig at the Hershey Country Club last Saturday night.  (Well La Di freakin' Da!)  I got to perform for about 60 heart surgeons from the Hershey Medical Center.  Shows like this are special to me for a few reasons.  One, I grew up right down the road, and I still love my hometown of Hershey, PA.  Two, I really have so much respect for medical professionals.  Having had my share of problems when I was younger that were dealt with at that same hospital made this important to me.  I told them to go easy on me if I ever wind up on their table.  A special thanks to all my new friends in the vascular surgery dept. at the Hershey Med Center.

Live, or Memorex?

I said this blog would be about different kinds of entertainment. Mostly live, but I will most likely comment on any good movie, TV show, or CD that strikes my fancy as well. This week, we have a bit of both.

This past weekend, I traveled with a few friends to Baltimore and caught an unusual act at a bar called Illusions. Guess what the theme is? The 22 year old proprietor/performer Spencer Horsman has been a friend of mine for years. He grew up in a family of entertainers. Both mom and dad were Ringling Brothers clowns and his dad owned a magic shop in Baltimore. The poor kid never had a chance at a normal life. The place is very smartly decorated with antique magic posters. Leather couches, pool table, booming swing music and $12 martins (ouch Spencer) help make the crowd comfy before the show. Once Spencer takes the stage, he shows experience beyond his years. Now, let me make one thing absolutely clear. I hate this guy. He's young, handsome, very talented, owns his own bar, and the chicks love him. A few lovely ladies made their way onto the stage to assist him and of course, once he flashed those pearly whites, he had them eating out of his hand. The show concludes with an upside down straight-jacket escape above the bar. Not really something you're likely to see at most neighborhood watering holes. Good job Spencer.....but I still hate you.

The idea of a magic bar may be foreign to some people, but at a time they were pretty popular in major cities in the US, most notably Chicago. I was truly born in the wrong city, in the wrong decade. Schuliens, The New York Magic Lounge, The Magic Tap and others served up sleight of hand, suds and plenty of good times. More recently in Snowmass CO the Tower Magic Bar was home to legends such as Doc Eason, Bob Sheets, Eric Mead. This wonderful place, owned by John Denver until his death in '97 is now unfortunately closed. Now, I've been performing magic in a bar/restaurant on a regular basis for about 7 years, but we're talking about something entirely different. An entire place with the theme of magic. There are still a few places around. Houston's Magic Island and Hollywood's famed Magic Castle to name a few. During my little sabbatical from performing for a few weeks, it was so great to sit on the other side and experience the show. There's nothing like live entertainment, unless...

I strolled in my door from Baltimore about 1:45 AM. About 3 hours later than I would have liked, but hey other than laundry I had no major plans for Sunday. Once I rolled out of bed I decided to test a new technology by my favorite company, Apple. Their iTunes music store has become THE place to download music, TV shows, movies and now movie rentals. I was so excited to check this out. I jumped online and found something I meant to see in the theater, but just didn't get to.....Superbad. Now, I have to tell you this movie won't be for everybody.  I can be very sophisticated when I need to be.  I'm a coinesseur of fine music, art, and food.  I go to see foreign language films.  I decided that for a cold, miserable Sunday afternoon, the best bet would be a raunchy teen pic that I can only described as this generation's Porky's.  It's a great story about 3 high school losers and their never ending quest to get some alcohol for a party, solely to get some girls so drunk they'll actually sleep with them.  (Ahh, to be 16 again.)  This movie makes no apologies about the many f-bombs, euphemisms for breasts and penis jokes.   A lot of penis jokes, (there's even illustrations.)  I won't go much into detail, because if this is your kind of movie, you've probably already seen it.  If not, you probably stopped reading long ago.

The main point I brought up the movie was the digital rental service available from Apple.  I was never much of a renter.  If I really wanted to see a DVD, I bought it.  I'm horrible about returning DVDs.  I never got on the Netflix bandwagon because when I want to see a movie, I want to see it now, not 2 days from now.  (I have issues, I know.)  This is the perfect solution. For $4, the movie is delivered to my computer and I can watch it there, or transfer it to my iPod and take it on the go.  I really think this will come in handy when I have to get on a plane. You have 30 days to watch it and the movies disappear from your hard drive 24 hours after you start watching.  For more on the way Apple is changing the way we entertain ourselves on those cold miserable Sunday afternoons, look at my buddy Scott's blog at reelsinmotion.blogspot.com and by all means give it a shot.

Later Tater

Scott, Reggie Bugmuncher, Pepka, Danny Borneo, Johnny Neutrino and Martin Ling


Miss Reggie, she's sexy even with a nightcrawler sticking out of her mouth.


MMMMMMM Yummy....


Martin Ling-The Suicide King earns his nickname

Friends with unusual talents...

In keeping with the title of this blog, I intend to feature some friends of mine who are wonderful entertainers in their own right. This may include bands, magicians, comedians, jugglers; God for bid maybe even a mime. I love to meet people who have a really different act. How many piano-hacks who play show tunes do we really need?

This weekend, I drove down to Philly with my buddy Scott to see....a sideshow. Traditionally, these type of shows were secondary in the circus world. A smaller tent would feature fire eaters, sword swallowers and the like. For the wonderful troupe I saw Saturday night the sideshow IS the show. No second bananas here. This group features Johnny Neutrino, Martin Ling The Suicide King, Sideshow Danny Borneo, and the lovely Miss Reggie Bugmuncher, (guess what her talent is). I've known people for many years that do small bits of sideshow in their act, but this was the first time for me where it was the main attraction. We got to see everything from Martin Ling swallowing swords and sticking his tongue on the spinning metal blades of a fan, to Miss Reggie snack on nightcrawlers and a live goldfish. Then there's my buddy Danny who couldn't find a light for his smoke, so he sticks his face into a shower of white hot sparks coming off an angle grinder. Of course, our guide through this world was Johnny Neutrino; the talker, (not barker) of the group. Before the show, we watched as Danny and Martin ate fire and Johnny attempted to lure people into the bar to see the show. I'll be damned, it worked.

I guess I have to be responsible and tell you that they are highly trained professionals and you shouldn't try any of this stuff at home. (Who the hell is dumb enough to do that?) I urge you to check out their website on my list of links, and if you're ever in the Philadelphia area go see them, you might want to skip lunch though.

And speaking of lunch, this show took place at my new favorite restaurant in Philadelphia, National Mechanics. I really don't know how to describe the decor of the place, but it was...unusual. The food was great and the bar/waitstaff were fun too. When in the City of Brotherly Love, stop in at 22 S. Third St. It's walking distance from Independence Hall. Tell'em Pepka sent you, they'll say...who?

So kid, you wanna blog huh....

So I admit it.  I follow what the other kids do; far behind.  I've been wanting to do this for a while and after urging from my friend Scott Sullivan, (you have him to thank) I figured what the hell.  I figured this would be a fun way for people to find out more about me and my various interests. And for those who thought they knew me, well we'll see about that.  This will be primarily a log of various experiences I have as a performer, places I visit and people I meet.  I don't intend on using this as a soapbox for political and religious mumbo-jumbo, but hey after a few beers, you never know.  I'm also very lucky to be blessed with some of the best friends a guy could ever ask for.  Many of them have never met, so they may actually connect this way also.

So what  is a Pepka?  A Pepka, as defined by the man himself is a 33 year old, happily divorced magician, musician, smart-ass, lover of comedy, technology, Italian food, and German Beer.  Born near Pittsburgh, grew up in Hershey,  and now residing in the vast, thriving metropolis of New Cumberland, PA.  For the last 15 years, I have been a sleight of hand artist.  Yeah, a fancy term for a guy who does card tricks.  I've never liked the term magician.  I also think that unless you're 5, you probably realize it's a trick.  And since I don't perform for 5 year olds, let's just cut the crap.  For the past 23 years, I have been playing trombone.  At times better than others.  In high school I placed first for district band and district orchestra.  What will that get me today? Not a lot.  Maybe an invite to play somewhere, but once they hear me, I may not be invited back.  I love jazz but have played just about every type of music you can imagine; swing, classical, rock and even polka.  (C'mon, a fat guy from Pittsburgh HAS to polka!)  

This will be a learning surely be a learning experience as I figure out how all this stuff works.  If you're still with me after all of this, thanks for reading.