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The words “paper bag” don’t invoke images of music to most. That is, unless you’re a loyal fan of the all-night music marathon that takes place annually in June at Mulcahy’s, in Wantagh. Die-hard “baggers” have been coming to see this little bit of Woodstock since l978, when it was just 17 musicians playing for 35 minutes. Within a few years, the cat was out of The Bag and as the audience grew, so did the band members. Now, The Paper Bag boasts at least 60 musicians on stage performing nonstop unrehearsed music to roughly 1,400 zealous fans. But where did it all begin?
Mike Guido, the founder of The Paper Bag (www.paperbagmusic.com) tells all: “In 1973, I was in The Phil Gagliano Band, and the drummer, Don Civitella, wrote a song called Paper Bag. As I moved from band to band, people would request it at gigs. Finally, one night at Chelsea’s (in Huntington) we did the song and it became a cult thing.” After being the sound engineer at a music festival in upstate New York in the late 1970s, Mike decided on the last day of the festival that he would get all the musicians from the bands onstage at once, and that would be “his band.” “We performed to hundreds of people wearing bags on their heads. We had so much fun, we continued to perform every year thereafter,” Mike adds. In three decades, they’ve covered 1,074 songs from every classic rock band imaginable.
During the 1990s, the concept of having a Bag theme came into play. (i.e. The Love Bag, The Doggy Bag, The Body Bag, etc.) This year they’ll perform The Sleeping Bag; but no shut-eye is expected. “Much of the audience has been attending for more than 20 years,” Mike explains of the concert, which rocks nonstop from 10 p.m. ’til 4 a.m. (in fact, the website and concert program recommend “we strongly urge you to take the next day off”). The most important element is the camaraderie among the musicians and the audience. According to Mike, “We’ve been friends for over 30 years and we continue to celebrate life by doing what we do best—enjoying rock music.”
The Paper Bag #31 will be held 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Thursday, June 26, at Mulcahy’s in Wantagh. For details, visit www.paperbagmusic.com or www.muls.com
Deborah Karmel, Saturday, June 07, 2008 at 10:16 AMThis is a great article! Looking forward to the bag! See you soon!
Debbie
Tara Maroney, Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 10:19 AMThe Paper Bag
what a drag!
arnie, Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 12:22 AMmany a wild night at jim's chelsea's in huntington.
good to still see you playing.
