ALAS, HONORABLE mention must go out old bits that there just isn't room for anymore such as the "Tree Tenors" three tuxedoed guys (the same three guys who do Three Dog Night and the Lettermen -- Gary Murphy, Bill Lazzaretti and Craig Martin) with music stands who turn the pages of their sheet music while actually singing like birds; i.e., they really make the tropical bird and jungle sounds 1959 like the record "Quiet Village" performed by keyboard wiz Tom Thomasello like a one man Martin Denny Orchestra, and we could go on because we do have a million of them.

These sketches are periodically interrupted by stage announcements of dedications and coming attractions that are poorly disguised, stand up comedy patter that is simply funny with no musical association at all. Next breath and we are into palette cleansing musical numbers sung by the band members that give the Chorus time to change costumes into the next sketch. There is no dead time whatsoever, so you better not go out of tune.

Finally, no Glass Packs show is complete without the World's Worst Cruise ship entertainers, an act that should neverbe seen on dry land, Jose (Julio Lopez) and Rene (Bob Sarlatte), who offer up our nod to cheesy Ratpack night club entertainment, as though the preceding hour and fifteen minutes was Les Miserables (See video page). Julio returns later in the evening in a scene from Hamlet in Glassterpiece Theatre when Horatio and Hamlet recite lines from the famous play that lead up to the sighting of the King - none other than Julio as the gold lame Viva Las Vegas Elvis. Yeah, we do Elvis but only in the context of Shakespeare.

As you can see the breadth of our material goes beyond the fifties music we started playing, although we still play it occasionally because we like it, we did it for real for many years six night s a week, two set a night wherever there was electricity, and we're good at it. The show you see today is a celebration of popular musical culture from Alan Freed (including the lampoon the PBS Doo Wap show with our own geriatric group, Chubby & the Moonbeams who cameo out to "Speedo" slower than Satchel Paige ever walked to the mound) to the current S.F. Board of Supervisors' decision to allow same sex change operations (a song dedicated at the top of the show to the City of San Francisco Same Sex Employees Union Choir - "Always Something There to Remind Me" or maybe "Daddy's Got a Squeezebox" -- we haven't decided yet, we may use both).

So there you have it. Thanks again for remembering us on or 20th, 30th and 40th Anniversaries and umpteenth Annual Farwell Performances. We have always tried to keep the Vancouver Sun's music editor, Scott McRae's, words in mind and keep our mythic distance from the audience "Hell we (you the audience) could do that . . . but with enough nerve, enough booze and enough . . .". Well you get the picture.

We now approach 1000 performances and the undersigned has had the privilege of being there for every one of them. So next time you look up and see the search light showing the Glass Packs' logo across the skyline where you live, come on down to Bimbo's and join us. We're still out there havin' fun in the warm California Sun.

Sincerely, Jerry Murphy
aka Butch