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The David Leonardis Report #18
3 January 2008 Send To a Friend
I hope everyone had a fantastic New Years Eve. Or at least made it though warm and filled with hope and opportunity for the new year that is now upon us. I went to the 103.5fm event at Navy Pier and set up a DLG exhibit. We brought 40 pieces of art and a good time was had by all. The fireworks display was first rate and my thanks go out to Haven Allen from the Chicago Lifestyle Magazine and Allen Entertainment. Thanks for a great night Haven.
Recently I found myself dining several times with someone who it would be hard to call anything but my absolute favorite “Guest Expert”… Roger Herring of Socca. Roger and I went to Moons a week or so ago. Moons is an old school Chicago Diner. There is a long counter and no tables. I had the Moon special. 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage and two pancakes. Touching on my Southern leanings they have authentic grits. The coffee is served in one of those paper cups that fits in a plastic holder. I felt like I was in Ann Arbor in the 1970’s. Old School to say the least and Moons was the very most. Walking out of there you absolutely feel like a full Moon. That’s for sure. Breakfast for two was $18 out the door. I’ll be back for sure. 16 S. Western Ave. 312-226-5094.
A little more on the North Side recently… Bagel (3107 N. Broadway 773.477.0300) was a great pick by none other than my “Guest Expert”, Roger Herring of Socca. Museum class Artist Andy Kane met us there. Andy has his art in 5 different books, many Museums and several prominent Art Galleries. Andy who is an untrained artist likes to say he has given up being a Folk Artist. I have been buying Andy’s art since I opened my actual first Art Gallery, Fortune Art International, in 1990 on Belmont Ave. I particularly like Andy’s new series of encaustic paintings. I’m real big on texture in clothing and especially in artworks. I commissioned him to make a sign for my gallery and one side is encaustic and the other is egg tempura. Two old world mediums and I love that about Andy and any artist that takes his job seriously. Anyway we all had a great lunch. I had the pastrami and a matzoball soup. The pickles are, of course, complimentary.
I love all forms of culture as you might have guessed. So I went to see Ron Hawking at the Mercury Theatre (3745 N Southport Ave, 773.325.1700). Ron does a tribute act to the 41 entertainers who influenced him along his journey to stardom. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jimmy Durante and plenty of others I’m barely old enough to remember. Let’s just say the demographic placed me in the category of the second youngest couple in the theatre. Ron is a Chicagoan and a first rate performer. Super friendly and really genuine. My old golfing buddy Henry Salgado who is a professional trombonist was in the band and everyone in the show gave it their all. I love to see that. Afterward I went over to meet some friends at Blue Bayou (3734 N Southport Ave, 773.871.3300). A nice bar and they had some interesting photos as their decor. After that we went over to Quenchers at the corner of Fullerton and Western to see my old friend Mike Zelenko who plays with The Ladies and Gentleman. Mike used to be in Material Issue, a Chicago band that had the largest signing contract since STYX. I was a big fan of Styx’s Paradise Theatre cassette myself. Back to Material Issue who I was a big fan of also. I knew Jim Ellison who was the lead singer from the scene back in the day. Jim wrote and sang the songs and they were really popular. The world lost Jim Ellison in a scooter accident and that was a loss to Chicago. The Ladies and Gentleman rocked and I had a great time.
While I’m on the subject of Death. Chicago lost one of my favorite columnists this week, Terry Armour. Terry used to write the Inc. Column in the Chicago Tribune which I had been featured in. Later Terry wrote Armour and Co. for the Chicago Sunday Tribune. I heard that he died the other day and I’ll be going to his wake tomorrow. Terry was lucky enough to have a written legacy of his accomplishments and shared wisdom. He influenced me and I always enjoyed his column. I can only hope that the same can be said of me when I’m gone. Thanks Terry. You’ll be remembered.
Now on a much cheerier note…I will be hosting the January Boom Box show at my River North Gallery Friday Jan 4, 2008 from 6-midnight. Lea Pinsky, Dustin Harris, Dez Harper, Angel Pagan and Dale Paracuelles are all fantastic artists that work in a collaborative. I’m pleased to feature their art and I look forward to a great show with lots of art sales.
The second Saturday of this month will be my DLG Wicker Park Birthday Bash. Saturday January 12 from 6-midnight at 1346 N. Paulina St. This will be in conjunction with the Wicker Park Buck Town Gallery Association second Saturday gallery walk. There should be IGO cars driving the route picking up gallery patrons and dropping them off at the other galleries as well.
I’ve got more entertainment coming up so stay tuned and thanks again for reading.
DL
