[Dixielandjazz] New Venue for Jelly Roll Jazz Band?

[James O'Briant]

Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band, in its 6-player incarnation, recently
lost its venue at the Manna Thai restaurant in Martinez, CA.  A steep rent
increase by the landlord forced the restaurant out of business.

It's possible that the band has found a new venue, at "Champa," a
Thai/Vietnamese Restaurant located at 3550 San Pablo Dam Road in El
Sobrante, CA.  OKOM fans in the Bay Area may recall that this location was
formerly the Punjab Pizza Palace, where a number of Trad Jazz and other
bands performed regularly.  The restaurant has been completely remodeled,
and is a nice venue for music and dancing, with a good dance floor.

The Jelly Roll Jazz Band has been booked to play at Champa on Saturday,
March 8 from 7:00 - 10:00 PM.  For the present, the Jelly Roll Jazz Band is
booked for just the one night, March 8. We hope that this will become a
regular Saturday night gig for the band, but of course that hinges on the
turnout and whether our fans generate enough revenue for the restaurant to
pay the band and still be in the black for the evening. We hope that if
you're in the Bay Area, you'll be able to come to Champa that night for
dinner and dancing, and to support OKOM played by real live musicians.

Here's how to get to Champa with the least driving on city streets:

Take I-80 to the San Pablo/El Sobrante area, and look for the El Portal
Drive Exit.  If you're on eastbound I-80, it's the first exit after Hilltop
Drive, and if you're westbound it's the first exit after San Pablo Dam Road.
Take the El Portal Exit, and then turn East (away from the Bay) on El Portal
Drive. Go about 0.2 mile to the "T" intersection, then turn right on San
Pablo Dam Road for about 0.1 mile.  Turn left into the "El Sobrante Plaza"
strip mall.  "Champa" is in units H & J of the mall just to the right of the
center driveway where you enter. I'm told that it's next to "The Cellar," a
well-known wine and spirits retailer.

[End of Commercial]

And now back to our regular programming.

Jim O'Briant, tuba
...on behalf of
Ted Shafer and the Jelly Roll Jazz Band