That is what the subject line of an electronic communication delcared today. Said communication was from our dear lady Eva Holbrook of the band SHEL. SHEL has been playing here since the ladies were youngins. They are now not youngins. They are also members of the Universal Republic record label family, having officially signed the contracts Monday night. Other members of the UR family include  Tori Amos, Michael Franti, what seems like every child of Bob Marley, and Owl City. Here’s to waiting for the SHEL cover of “Fireflies”.

We love SHEL and the entirety of the Holbrook family with all of our hearts. They have always supported Everyday Joe’s, and it’s a nice time to see them entering new seasons of life.

A Facebook video was posted, forever archiving the pens put to paper in the internet history books. It can be seen here, if you’re into it. If this wonderful news has you chomping at the bit for a chance to see SHEL live, you’re in luck. They’ll be returning to Everyday Joe’s on April 23 with friends John Common and Mason Reed.

Back in September we thought, “We want to host coffee tastings.” Then we thought, “These tastings need to be about more than coffee.” One last thought occured, “The tastings should benefit people doing good things.”

And so those thoughts formed one larger thought that was acted on and out came Coffee & Goodness. It is an afternoon of coffee exploration to benefit good things. The upcoming Coffee & Goodness (Saturday March 6) will benefit the Fort Collins Food Co-Op. We will be exploring a coffee from Ethiopia: Amaro Gayo Sun-Dried. It will be explored 4 different ways:

• Hario V60 Drip
• Clever Coffee Dripper
• French Press
• Espresso

The doors are open from 2-5 pm. Come by any time during those hours and receive 6 oz. samples of Hario, Clever, and French Press and a double shot of the espresso. You can tell us things, we can tell you things, we can exlpore the flavor wheel, we can draw pictures…all for just $7.

PLUS, our good friends at Novo Coffee have generously and graciously and lovingly donated all the beans, so nearly all of that $7 will go directly to the FC Food Co-Op. Prolific!

See you then.

TW Walsh is a man who mixes and masters albums. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what that means. He makes them sound wonderful. Would you like some examples of which albums he makes sound wonderful? Thought so. Examples of those who have played at Everyday Joe’s:

• David Bazan Curse Your Branches
• Shadows On A River Shadows On A River
• You And Yourn It Would Make Things Worse
• Karli Fairbanks The Breaking Of Our Days

There are a lot more where that came from. Check out a full explanation of his work here.

When he’s not mixing or mastering, TW Walsh is a prolific tweeter (follow him @twwalsh). Back in January, this eminated from his twitteressence:

Cat beard.

Followed by a link to this:

Ohhhhh that is lovely. Or perhaps you think it is disgusting. Or genius. I’d like to point out the stubble above the lowest cat’s head. Will more cat’s grow from there? Or is this  a peaceful mauling?

Think about it. Get back to me. You have been trusted with something great, here. Be careful upon whom you unleash it.

FURTHER:

• Follow TW Walsh on Twitter
• TW Walsh’s Official Web Site
• For Real

Speaking Of Faith is a fine show on public radio that has had input concerning the way certain things are done around Everyday Joe’s. The show and the people of the show don’t  know this, of course. Methinks they have input many places. Host Krista Tippett spoke at First United Methodist back in the fall. Several of us went and it was wonderful. There is an amusing story that came out of the evening, but we’ll get to that some other time.

The staff of SOF maintain a Twitter account (@softweets). Today it produced this tweet:

40 Days 40 Deeds: a project “to be kinder, to give more, to inconvenience” + “make the world a more pleasant place.”

This sounded so lovely to my heart, I clicked on the provided link and was taken to a post son the SOF blog SOF Observed. From there, my clicking intrigue took me to another post on Observed and to an entirely different blog, 40days40deeds. It was a lot of work for my clicking finger, but it was worth it.

The “other post” on Observed is actually titled “A Is For Alleluia.” It marks the beginning of the Lenten season, and the Irish writer marked my heart with the statement:

Lent is less for giving up, and more for making space.

40days40deeds is a project of sorts, centered on Lent and the hearts of 4 folks across the U.S.

40 Days 40 Deeds is a project created by a small group of people in various U.S. cities who have pledged to make small changes throughout the 2010 Lenten season to encourage people to be kinder, to give more, to inconvenience themselves a little to make the world a more pleasant place to be.

Those are sentiments of sacrifice and service…things at the core of Everyday Joe’s. The volunteers of Everyday Joe’s…those are the things their hearts beat for. Please know that.

It has been said here lately that what Everyday Joe’s IS must not stay at Everyday Joe’s. By reading this, you take part in this place. If you come in, you take part in this place. By being a human being, you take part in this place, because this place is part of a much larger thing. We are all in it.

Everyday Joe’s wants to make space for things of love and goodness to occur. We want to make changes that provide space. The best part is, we can all do this each day all the time. Perhaps a new habit can be formed over fourty days…a habit that makes the places we are a part of more pleasant places to be. A habit that makes space for pleasantries to occur. Then we can be thankful.

Please take a moment to read those posts/blogs. Comment if you please, or come in and say hello.

FURTHER:

• Follow Speaking Of Faith on Twitter
• A Is For Alleluia
• 40days40deeds

So, this musical bit has been up on the world wide entirenets since early December, but we figured we’d go ahead and let you know about it…or remind you about it…now.

Why? Because Nathaniel Rateliff (formerly The Wheel) will be returning to the stage at Everyday Joe’s on Saturday (Feb. 20). Fresh off finishing his debut release for Rounder Records (home of Raffi) and fresh before leaving for England. Tickets are $7 in advance or $10 at the door and can be purchased at the shop or here. Show time is 7 pm. Shadows On A River and Jay J Mattot will warm the place up.

Our favorite from Nate’s session at the wonderful Daytrotter studios is posted below. Please enjoy “You Should Have Seen The Other Guy”. Listen to/download the rest of the session here, and we’ll see you on Saturday.

FURTHER:

• Audio Treat: Shadows On A River
• Buy Tickets

Of course, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Our friend Listener has played the Everyday Joe’s stage several times, most recently in May opening for Aaron Strumpel & taking part in the Elephants extravaganza.

Listener has a new video out to an old song. That washing machine isn’t a prop, folks, it’s an institution.

FURTHER:

• Official Listener Site
• SALE! at the Listener store

Adam is quite the crafter of words. He loves them. “We’re prisoners of the language,” he told me the other day.

Not sure we’ve ever posted poetry here on Appendix E-J, but this seems to be the time to start. I hope you get to meet Adam one day, as he will inspire you…heart & wardrobe. Adam wrote this while the train passed 144 S. Mason:

Time Passes On Rails
words by Adam Mackie

Time passes on rails the train blows its horn
Speech pauses feet stop
Engine goes moves light years on from caboose
The distance between often feels forlorn
The journey invents the destination
A beach stretching alongside an ocean
Humble grains of sand swept and forgotten
Self-aggrandize in epic delusion
Genius lives neither in tide nor the beach!
Ever elusive Spirit inside souls
Resides in the past, present, and future
Teachers teach to learn learners learn to teach
Dig deep and wide inside deep and wide holes
Truth finds wound resists stitching suture

It is exciting to finally be able to tell you this with all certainty and without breaking any rules.

Barista competitions are fascinating things. Think Iron Chef but with coffee, and with just 15 minutes to prepare a 3-course beverage spread for four judges: an espresso, a cappuccino, and a signature beverage. At the event in Chicago last year, we saw signature beverages made with blue cheese, rootbeer, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, caramelized bananas, and lots of heavy cream. It’s quite a nice time.

This year, the national competition will be held April 15-18 in Anaheim, CA. Leading up to that event are the regional competitions. Colorado baristas participate in the Mountain Regional. This year, that event makes its way our way.

This has us giddy. We’d really like you to be giddy, too…though we understand if you are not. BUT, you should check it out. A lot of Everyday Joe’s folks will be there volunteering and watching and oohing and ahhing. If you need some convincing, watch last year’s national championship winning performance below. Then look forward to watching some nice hearts being poured over Valentine’s Day weekend.

View on Vimeo.

About this same time people in Haiti were experiencing a natural disaster. People were being buried in rubble. The earth was changing at a very rapid rate all around them. I have beliefs about these quivers I felt & we can talk about them sometime if you like…but for now it is just safe to say that earthquakes are bigger than coffee. The world is huge and we are not as big as we might think we are. But we need to take care of each other and love each other. Methinks those are part of each other.

Love people here. The people next to you. But love the people in Haiti. If you pray, pray for them please. If you have the desire, go to Haiti. If you have the means, give to Haiti. We’re not as small as we may think we are.

FURTHER:

• Avatar For Haiti
• Oxfam

If you were at the 2009 Everyday Joe’s 90/10 benefit, that card there might just mean something to you. It does to me. I keep it in my wallet.

The cards were distributed to those in attendance by one Mr. Todd Fadel of the musical superiors Agents Of Future. The cards & their suits corresponded with a certain percussive action. Before long, the audience was the backing band for the Agents, and images were being drawn on an overhead projector by those feeling the need, and dancing was happening by those who couldn’t contain it anymore.

“Come exist with me,” Mr. Fadel invited from the stage. “This is where I exist, where I am a child.”

This invitation is also the heart behind Love Is Concrete, a beautiful online community Todd has created for all of us. Folks have taken notice, including the people at Sojourner’s magazine. They recently interviewed our friend and it is a beautiful read. Go ahead and see for yourself, then join Love Is Concrete.