Sunday Afternoon Dancing At Newport Harbor

Did You Know? - Rick Sherman began playing the piano in his hometown of Kansas City at the age of four, emulating his father, professional pianist Art Sherman. Rick began performing professionally in a rock band at the age of 12 with three of his best friends, and continued with them through junior high school, high school, and college. At the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Sherman and his friends performed in Lonny Fame and The Belltones, a popular 50's era nostalgia band, touring Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and Illinois. While in college, Rick studied music theory and composition privately with instructor John Elliot. After receiving his B.A. degree in Psychology from Kansas University, where he taught Parapsychology and minored in music, Sherman performed in various groups in Kansas City and, starting in 1975, in Southern California.

Within the context of the various bands and vocalists Rick has worked with, he has performed an incredibly wide variety of musical styles, including: rock, pop, jazz, fusion, classical, and even country-western. Sherman's synthesizer playing is featured on the record album "High Tide", recorded by the Lido Jazz All-Stars, while his most notable band experience was with the group "Mandrill", an afro-latin/jazz-fusion funk band which had previously recorded 14 albums on various major record labels, including United Artists, Polydor, and Arista. Sherman has also served as a keyboard product demonstrator for musical instrument companies Fender Rhodes (demonstrating the Chroma synthesizer), Roland Corp. US (demonstrating various MIDI keyboards and sound modules), and InVision Interactive (demonstrating the renowned "Miroslav Vitous Symphonic Orchestra" sample library). Sherman's piano studies have continued under the tutelage of Dick Powell in Costa Mesa and Terry Trotter (accompanist for Natalie Cole, and composer of the theme for "Everybody Loves Raymond") in Studio City.

Did You Know? - America is considered the true home of the hamburger, but rissoles of chopped beef have been a staple of East European cuisines for centuries. These, it is believed, eventually found their way to Hamburg, and when a huge wave of German immigrants arrived in America in the 19th century, they brought their 'Hamburg-style beef' with them. 

A early as 1834, a New York restaurant was offering Hamburg Steak on its menu, although the state of Wisconsin lays claim to the invention of the modern burger: in 1885, one young entrepreneur, Charles Nagreen, turned his homemade meatballs into sandwiches, which he then named hamburgers, and sold at county fairs.

Did You Know? - Schnapps is a term that refers to any kind of strong alcoholic beverage. The English word "schnapps" is derived from the German Schnaps (plural, Schnäpse).

The main kinds of fruit used for German Schnapps are apples, pears, plums, and cherries. Apricots are another popular fruit; they are used to make an Austrian Schnapps called Marillenschnaps. Fruits other than these five kinds are rarely used for German Schnapps. Apples are used along with pears to make a fruit brandy called Obstwasser. Pears are used to produce Poire Williams (Williamsbirne); plums make Zwetschgenwasser, and cherries make Kirschwasser.

Did You Know? - Hip flasks were traditionally made of pewter, silver, or even glass, though most modern flasks are made from stainless steel. Some modern flasks are made of plastic so as to avoid detection by metal detectors.

Hip flasks can vary in shape, although they are usually contoured to match the curve of the wearer's hip or thigh, for comfort and discretion. Some flasks have "captive tops" which is a small arm which attaches the top to the flask to stop it from getting lost when it's taken off.

A hip flask is most commonly purchased, and then filled by the owner. However, the term "flask" also applies to smallest bottle sizes of alcohol in commercial markets. Some flasks come with small cups to make sharing easier, although generally liquid is drunk directly from the flask.