Cool stuff Contact Info Calendar Links Etc. Letters from Brian Site Map Mail Form Main Page News you can use CoDrive Photo Gallery

Hello Folks,

So many of you were so supportive and so very helpful last year at our first fundraising event for the Stephen Camello Music Scholarship Foundation. As a result of all the help and generous support from folks like you, the foundation awarded $1,000.00 to a student who was accepted to Berklee College of Music. Our first recipient was Jonathan Smith from Saugus High School and we have received word that Jonathan finished his first semester at Berklee with a
3.9 G.P.A.. Obviously this makes the foundation very proud. Because the foundation has had such a successful first year in it's fundraising efforts, the scholarship is now being offered to High Schools in both Saugus and Lynn. The
foundation would like to express it's sincere gratitude to all of you who have been so willing to lend a helping hand.

Last year's event, at the Prince Pizzeria and Bar on Rte. 1 in Saugus, was a very special gathering of Stephen Camello's friends and musical comrades who were fortunate enough to have been touched, not only, by Stephen's enormous talent as a guitar player but also by his kind and gentle personality. The evening's entertainment was outstanding with band after band turning in heart felt performances in Stephen's honor. We received so many emails after our event from folks saying how glad they were to have been witness to this wonderful gathering.

This year's event at Prince on Thursday, April 28, 2005 will surely be a great follow up to last year's maiden voyage. As was stated in the opening words of our first event, "We at the Stephen Camello Music Scholarship Foundation, hope to create an enduring opportunity for those who have chosen music as their art and dedication to excellence as their path". We are very proud to have had such success in our first year and, thanks to all of you, are even more proud to be entering into another. Here is what is in store for those who are able and willing to attend our
2nd annual fundraising event:

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2005
7:30-11:30
PRINCE PIZZERIA AND BAR ON RTE. 1 SAUGUS
TICKETS: $20.00 (which includes free cheese pizza and soft drinks)...ALL AGES!

RAFFLES WITH GREAT ITEMS AND CASH PRIZES, SPECIAL GUESTS AND LOTS OF FUN.

Please call (781) 477-9529 for ticket info...leave your name and number and we will call you back.

Hello Folks,

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my latest entry of "Letters From Brian" I thought that this might give those folks who are often too busy to read a long email a chance to check out the site and catch up when it is good for them. You will notice that most of the regular emails that I will be sending out from now on will contain mostly schedule information. I hope that this is more convenient for you and that you enjoy our new feature.

As I mentioned in a recent email, many of you now realize that we will not be holding our annual Thanksgiving CD release party this year. For those of you who know me well, I am confident that you understand that this is a real tough call for me. My band and I have had a CD release party every Thanksgiving (with some in between as well) since the release of our first CD "13". The tradition actually started the year before with our tape release at Bleacher's in Salem. That tape contained some of the songs that were to end up on the "13" CD. This will be the first Thanksgiving in 9 years that we haven't had a new release.

The good news, though, is that all of the reasons that we are not releasing a new cd are very good ones. My last two efforts "Songs For Madeline" and "Maes' Lullaby" were solo releases. Both of these bodies of work were not only very well received by you but very rewarding for me as they gave me an opportunity to explore different aspects of my writing and playing. Those accomplishments brought me back to the desire to make another full band cd. During this past summer I found my inspiration and writing drawing me back to ideas that were reminiscent of years past. As a writer we sometimes want to move away from what we have already done and keep striving for something new. I think that this can be healthy but only if we don't lose sight of what brought us to where we are in the present. You, as a body of friends, fans and followers have always been so supportive of my creative efforts that it makes me constantly ask myself if I am giving the most and best that I can. I suppose the challenge that I face is trying to keep it new while keeping it familiar. With all these thoughts and feelings running through me over the last year I have been doing a lot of songwriting and find myself with plenty of material that I feel strongly about....so why no CD?

Being a full time day care Daddy for my Daughter Madeline has been and continues to be a wonderful experience but as you parents well know also takes a lot of time. Trying to record and rehearse a band inside a home with a baby is really not realistic with everyone's different schedules also. What I have decided to do is to build my own recording studio separate from our home.

This is something that I have always wanted to do and I realize now that this is the time to do it. I am well into the construction process and am continuing to write new material as I go. I am very excited for what the future holds for my band and I am looking forward with great eagerness to the day when I can share it with you. My band and I will be surprising you with some new material in the upcoming months and we will let you know when it will be happening.

Every song that I write and every nail that I pound in is done with my love of music, the thought of how blessed have been in my personal life and how fortunate I am to have you folks to share my life and my music with. I don't have a release date fixed in my mind yet but when I do, you will be among the first to know. Happy Thanksgiving and, as always, thanks for all of your support.

All the best Brian

Hello Friends,
I would like to tell you about a very special event that I am involved in. As many of you already know, last August a long time and dear friend of mine, Stephen Camello, passed away very unexpectedly. For those of you who are familiar with our fifth CD, "The Great Symphony," Stephen was the guitarist who played the beautiful acoustic guitar track on the title song. Some of you may remember Stephen filling in for Kook a number of times on gigs and doing an amazing job during the late nineties.

Stephen and I played together in bands throughout most of the seventies. We were both members of an original project named "Shire" which I will always embrace as one of the most rewarding musical and personal experiences of my career.  As we gathered together to mourn the loss of our dear friend Stephen last summer, my old "Shire" band mates, some of Stephen's dear old friends and musical comrades and I made a commitment to do something very special in his name...this is what we have done...We have established "THE STEPHEN CAMELLO MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION."

Along with the encouragement and support of the Fine Arts Department at Saugus High School (Stephen's alma mater...class of 1973) we will be awarding a scholarship in Stephen's name each year to a student who is going on to college to pursue his music studies.

Our first fundraising event will be held Thursday, April 8th at Prince Pizzeria on Rte. 1 in Saugus from 7:30 -10:30 PM. It will be an evening filled with great music, great raffle prizes, special guests and special friends. I will be performing throughout the evening with my old "Shire" band mates as well as with my band, including MaryBeth, who have all generously volunteered their services. The band that Stephen was playing in will also be performing.
They are called "Hard Drive" and will surely keep, the party rockin. Members of the band "Rayzen Kayne," another great classic rock band will be performing. "The Distractions" will also take the stage for more great music. There will also be some other old band mates of Stephen's joining in and we hope to put some fun combo's together with all the great talent there will be to choose from. Some High School students will be performing as well to add to the high spirited event that we have in store for the evening.

Here are a few ways that you can help if you are interested:

1. Buy a ticket for $20.00 from me at one of my gigs.
2. Buy an advertising square in our fundraiser program for $25.00 for your small business or the company that you work for.
3. Make a donation of any amount payable to the Stephen Camello Music Scholarship Foundation. Mail to: SCMSF c/o Brian Maes P.O.. Box 538 Lynn Ma. 01903
I have included the scholarship description that is being posted at the High School. As always, Thank you for all of your help and support.

All the best Brian
****************************************************************************

The Stephen Camello Music Scholarship

Stephen Camello was a graduate of Saugus High School in the class of 1973.
Stephen was not only a guitar virtuoso but also an especially kind, gentle and well loved person.
His discipline and determination in pursuit of his love of music is well known throughout our musical  community.
Any of those who were fortunate enough to have been involved with Stephen either as a teacher, student or member of a musical ensemble will always remember his passionate dedication to his craft and his generosity in sharing his gift. Stephen Camello was the embodiment of the desire, hard work, commitment and sacrifice necessary to master any art.

We, at the Stephen Camello Music Scholarship Foundation, are committed in our efforts to create an enduring opportunity for students who have chosen music as their art and dedication to excellence as their path.
We hope to award this year's recipient with one thousand dollars.

Hit Counter