Greetings:

I recently learned about two relatively new venues in New York City, one in Manhattan and the other in Brooklyn. And by "relatively new," I mean one is only a year old and the other has been around less than five years. So I went and checked both of them out, spoke with the program managers, and got myself and my some time singing partner Anne Price booked to play each. Neither is strictly a folk venue -- each is open to jazz, comedy, poetry, underground hip-hop, etc. -- but both are very "folk friendly." Beyond that, both are small, intimate houses. They have sound systems, but I doubt that they are necessary.

So what, you ask, are these places? The older and more established of the two is the Vox Pop. It's a cross between a cafe and bookstore, and it's located at 1022 Cortelyou Road, one block east of Coney Island Avenue, in the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn.

The other is the Yippie Museum Cafe, and it's located at 9 Bleecker Street, between Elizabeth Street and the Bowery in the East Village section of Lower Manhattan.

The websites for the Vox Pop and the Yippie Museum Cafe are www.voxpopnet.net and www.yippiemuseum.org respectively.

Anne and I will be at the Vox Pop on Saturday, December 8, 2007, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. We will be at the Yippie Museum Cafe one week later, Saturday, December 15, from 8:00 to 10:00. By our choice, there will be no cover charge at either venue, but musicians' tips will certainly be appreciated.

Maybe we will see some Mudcatters there.

--- Steve Suffet