Woody Lissauer is a lifetime full-time professional who writes, composes and produces his own songs from his home of Baltimore (US) and performs them locally and internationally. He brings decades of passionate musical and literary exploration and a lifelong obsession with language(s) and aesthetic beauty to his song-craft.

Born into a musical family, Woody was infected early on by his father’s love of music in all its forms. He began playing guitar from the age of six and never stopped, with the result that the fingers on his left hand are noticeably longer. An innovative and virtuosic guitar player, he opened for Steppenwolf while still a teenager. As an adult, he toured widely throughout North America and Europe with Chrysalis Record’s Laura Hunter, A&M’s Gordon Michaels, Lifesong’s Crack the Sky, new wave pioneers Multiplex and Strangelove, US Bang (warming up for Kix and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry) ..boards with Pebbles and the Bam Bam Boys in front of 81,000 people, on bass with Maryland’s 1 country band (Alamo Band), and many other acts.

Make plans to come out this Wednesday to check out Woody Lissauer and please have a look and listen to the upcoming bands for this week.

Chef Joe has a basic philosophy about food — mix it up.  He takes basic foods like soup, wings, pizza and risotto and uses fresh ingredients in ways that often surprise. Take squid, for example.  Most of us are used to fried squid — there are few dishes in the world that bring tears to Mamma Joe’s eyes more than really well-cooked calamari.  But Squid and Scallion Potato Skins with squid, garlic, Asiago, butter and scallion?   Or Squid and Watercress Pizza with white sauce, grilled squid, watercress, mozzarella, asiago, oregano and olive oil, served with a spicy sherry vinegar gastrique? That’s what Chef Joe cooked up this week.  For other tasty treats , go to Specials  on our home page.

By the way,  people around the world enjoy squid:

• In Malta klamar mimli involves stuffing the squid with rice, breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic and capers and then gently stewing in red wine.
• In the Philippines, squid is cooked as adobong pusit, squid in adobo sauce, along with the ink, imparting a tangy flavour, especially with fresh chillies.
• In Slovenia squid are eaten grilled and stuffed with pršut and cheese, with blitva (Swiss chard).
• In Asia, squid is grilled whole, and sold in food stalls in China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan..
• In Russia, a lightly boiled julienned squid with onion rings, garnished with mayonnaise, makes a salad.
• In Japan and Korea, heavily salted squid ferments for as long as a month and  is served in small quantities as banchan, or as an accompaniment to white rice or alcoholic beverages.

I was born and raised amidst the human strains of the church chorus, weaned on those old hymns criss-crossed with the broken strands of the human heart: anguished honesty, tragic self-abasement, cries for redemption, all tangled about that joyful exultation of the mysterious wonder of creation. From the circle of faith and biblical ideals, my song modulated into the unearthly currents of experimental British rock’n'roll; the odd worlds of Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and Radiohead. Lyrics transformed from the joyful innocence of youth, to cryptic expressions of an intangible world of loss, confusion, and angst.

From there, my search has lead me into the heart of my own magnificent musical heritage, the American song, where no matter how terrible the suffering, hope abounds. From Walt Whitman, Stephen Foster, Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Leadbelly, to Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Jeff Tweedy, I have discovered the sounds and strains of my own soul.

All these various stages, eras, moments of my growth (and many more) define the music of Kyle Morgan. They continually reshape and remake me without my asking or bidding. My music belongs to the great artists of the past just as theirs belongs to me. Only the ear of another and the eye of time will determine what unique song my own voice sings into that dying twilight.

Take a look and listen to upcoming bands this week and come down and enjoy them for free at our Inner Harbor location.

Take a look and listen to the upcoming bands this week and take a trip to our Station North location to check them out free of charge.

It’s Spring and that means Chef Joe’s creative mojo is blooming.  We’ve got a whole host of new specials waiting for you at both Station North and Inner Harbor. Mamma Joe’s favorite is the Coca Cola and Orange Chicken Wings. So, of course, she needed to go find out all the great facts about Coca Cola.  Here is her favorite — and apparently 15 million YouTube viewers agree!

Now that you’ve had some fun come on down to our restaurants for some great food, drinks and music. Here’s what’s on the  menu at Station North:

• Chicken and Bacon Stew
• Coca Cola and Orange Chicken Wings
• Scallop and Cheddar Potato Skins with scallops, shallots, quatre-épices and cheddar
• Roasted Pepper and Black Olive Pizza with white sauce, black olives, roasted peppers, Swiss, pinenuts and green onions
• Carrot and Asparagus Risotto with puréed carrot, cream, tarragon, asparagus, fried egg and truffle salt

And we’ve got delicious specials at Inner Harbor too:

• Chicken Gumbo
• Green Peppercorn and Brandy Wings
• Prosciutto And Artichoke Skins in a white gravy
• Eggplant and Shrimp Pizza with roasted eggplant Sauce, crab, shrimp, mozzarella, pamigiana, parsley, and green onions
• Oyster and Sausage Risotto with sage and cheddar

Slovak Jazz and Gypsy music. What more needs to be said?  This band has been rocking out Joe Squared for the past year or so as the full late night band “Orchester Praževica” and also as the dinner act “Dark Mattah”.  Tonight should be one of those “great” times that I hear about.  Check out their music and come down on Friday May 4th at 10pm.  Like all of our shows, this one is FREE.

Take a look and listen to this week’s upcoming musical entertainment.

Freak Owls was created from the amalgamation of ideas, restlessness, and frustrations of Josh Ricchio.  After spending the past 12 years playing and touring in a wide variety of collaborative rock bands (most recently, “Pela”, “Ladycop”, “The Symphony Case”), the desire to lock himself in a room and write what he calls, “catchiness incarnate” became too great.
Each song, indeed catchier than the last, is textured with over-layering vocal choruses, sparkling acoustics, and Gnarls Barkley-like danceable beats.  All at once pulling influences from The Beach Boys, Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Local Natives and Death Cab For Cutie, “Taxidermy’s” songs make you want to curl up to them and sing along at the same time.  A very personal and uplifting set of smiles and moist eyes, Freak Owls wants to warm the heart and chill the spine.
“Taxidermy” was recorded by Eric Sanderson (Pela), and features Kolby Wade, Cody Geil, and Kerry Beach on a variety of sounds, voices and instruments.  It was released in March, 2010 on Sing Engine Records.
In the year since the release of the debut, and after whittling down the lineup from a 5-piece to 3, Freak Owls have brought their unique blend of indie-folk-pop on the road to a majority of the US, as well as having played festivals in England, Canada, and as far away as Latvia. Selling out their first few runs of cd’s while placing multiple songs in film and on TV, including a number of songwriting nominations such as The John Lennon, SongCircle, and 100% Music Songwriting Competitions, Freak Owls are gearing up to support the release of their new follow-up EP entitled, “Orchestrates”, which sees the trio expanding their sound to greater intensities and smaller intricacies.

Please take a listen to Freak Owls and come out this Saturday May 5th 10pm
Take a look and listen to this week’s upcoming music acts