With the chaos of the past few weeks finally in the rearview mirror, I figured I’d take some time to breathe again and appreciate the good things and people I have in my life now.

For starters, I’m taking a break from gigging this weekend due to the forthcoming nuptials of my best friend from my high school and college years, Dan. Dan and his soon-to-be wife, Christina, have been an item for nearly 10 years and are finally making it official with a wedding this Saturday, which I’ll be attending as a groomsman.

Congratulations, Dan and Christina!

With this upcoming weekend already accounted for, I’d also like to express my gratitude for those who have supported me in my musical endeavors these past few weeks and months — whether through attending a show, or by listening to Cold Lazarus online, or simply by offering kind and encouraging words about our music.

I’ve been performing out regularly for about the past six years, and I’ve had the pleasure of playing with and meeting some amazing people in that time. However, it wasn’t until this year that I feel I’ve really come into my own as a musician and felt confident enough in my capabilities and future potential.

A lot of it comes from the feedback I’ve received, a vast majority of which has been unsolicited. I’ve been complimented from other area musicians who I greatly admire and respect for the things they’ve managed to accomplish with their own art. When I run into these people at a show or just out and about and they tell me that they genuinely enjoy what they’ve been hearing and seeing from Cold Lazarus, well, those are the kinds of exchanges that stick with me and mean more than I can adequately convey.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t setting out to try and fulfill any kind of personal aspirations of local respect and recognition from those in the scene when I joined up with my bandmates to start this new project. I’d felt it was time to try something different from what I’ve done in my various cover bands and with The Elektra Kings, and I wanted to establish an outlet for that previously untapped side of my musicality.

But the real magic of it all is that the momentum and energy that we’ve put into this band has been returning to us several times over in the growing size of our audience. It’s been awesome to be able to play regularly and see such a great response from a crowd that seems to turn out and support us with their own energy in almost every instance.

I hope this doesn’t sound too much like a self-indulgent piece, because my intent is to express my gratitude for the experiences and interactions I’ve had since the beginning of this year. I’m at a place in my life where I’m starting to feel fulfilled and highly motivated to keep plugging away with my music, and I’m really blessed to be in a band where everyone else is feeling much the same.

As for my weekly update on the progress of our album, I have little to report other than our guitarist, Adam, was able to lay down four rhythm tracks and one lead track this past weekend. We still need to set a time for the group to go in and build our as-yet unrecorded two remaining songs from the beginning, but aside from that we’ve been making pretty efficient use of our time.

I’d place us at almost the midway point as far as the actual recording process, then comes the mixing and mastering — an entirely separate endeavor.

We’ll just keep chipping away at it piece by piece. We’re aiming for a November release, and are currently in the process of working with a local graphic design company to get some artwork done for future merchandise and the album itself. Hopefully within the next couple of months we’ll be able to start hitting our physical and online marketing a little harder, even as we continue to write more and more music with surprising regularity.

I’ll see you all here again next week!

And now, here’s some of what you can expect to find in the area this week.

HIGHLIGHTS

‘Third Thursday’ Series To Feature The Audience, Trip The Deuce Tonight: The sixth annual “Third Thursday” downtown Jamestown concert series, presented by the Active Artists Alliance and the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, will continue with a concert tonight by Jamestown bands The Audience and Trip the Deuce at the Winter Garden Plaza starting at 6:30 p.m. “Third Thursday” concerts are free, family friendly and open to attendees of all ages. Music will run until approximately 9 p.m.

The Winter Garden Plaza is located adjacent to The Wine Cellar at 313 N. Main St. For more information, find the event on Facebook. If the weather is uncooperative, the concert will be held at its “rain location” at Jamestown Skate Products, 209 Pine St., Jamestown.

RTPI To Hold Opening Artist’s Reception Friday: The Roger Tory Peterson Institute will hold an opening artist’s reception for its current exhibit, “Neil Rizos: The Art of Exploration,” at 5 p.m. Friday. The exhibit features over 50 works of art depicting birds and reflecting Rizos’ lifelong exploration of art and nature. Rizos works in a variety of media, including bronze sculptures, paintings, drawings, pastels, etchings, lithographs and woodcuts. The exhibit will remain on display through Dec. 15. Accompanying the reception will be a program with the artist about his art, bird research and travels. This event is free and open to the public.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is located at 311 Curtis St. in Jamestown. For more information, visit rtpi.org/neil-rizos-the-art-of-exploration/.

Winged Ox Players To Present ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ This Weekend: The Winged Ox Players theater group and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will present their production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at the Willow Bay Theater over the next two weekends. The production will open this weekend with 7:30 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday. Tickets are free but donations are greatly encouraged. Proceeds from the production will be donated to local mental health organizations.

The Willow Bay Theater is located at 21 E. Third St. in Jamestown, on the building’s third floor. For more information, find the event on Facebook.

County Historical Society To Present Saturday Lecture On Women’s Suffrage: The Chautauqua County Historical Society, in partnership with the Bemus Point Historical Society, will present a special lecture on the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York State on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Bemus Point United Methodist Church — 4954 Bemus-Ellery Road in Bemus Point.

Traci Langworthy, historian and Jamestown Community College professor, will join Dr. Shannon Risk, Niagara University History professor, in a joint presentation outlining the women’s suffrage movement in New York State, which began in the mid-19th century and continued until women in the state were finally given the right to vote in 1917. Risk and Langworthy will also spend time focusing on notable suffragists and organizations that took root here in Western New York and Chautauqua County. In addition to the presentation by Risk and Langworthy, a special re-enactment will also take place featuring actual remarks that were made at the time by notable anti-suffragists, as presented by local actor Robert Terreberry, with a rebuttal that was originally prepared by suffragist Ophelia Griffith of the Fluvanna Political Equality Club, as portrayed by re-enactor Kimberly Peterson Bentley. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the historical society at 326-2977 or email cchs@mcclurgmuseum.org.

HAPPENINGS

To include an upcoming show or event in this column, email gpaterniti@post-journal.com or call 487-1111, ext. 243 by Monday.

Tonight

Comedy open mic: 8 p.m., The Q, 104 W. Second St. in Jamestown

Jules-R-Us Karaoke: 8 p.m., Good Time Saloon, 590 Fairmount Ave. in Jamestown

Karaoke with DJ Xcite: 9 p.m., Bullfrog Hotel, 1414 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Karaoke with Felony Entertainment: 10 p.m., Forte, 116 E. Third St. in Jamestown

Friday

Brian Hanna: 6 p.m., The Wine Cellar, 309 N. Main St. in Jamestown

Rustic Ramblers: 7 p.m., Lakewood Legion, 174 Chautauqua Ave. in Lakewood

Southern Tier Xpress home game: 7 p.m., Northwest Arena, 319 W. Third St. in Jamestown

Beats By G: 7 p.m., Crown Street Roasting Company, 16 W. Third St. in Jamestown

“Despicable Me 3” screening: 7 p.m., Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, 116 E. Third St. in Jamestown

Mike Volpe (as Elvis and Frank Sinatra): 8 p.m., Busti Tap House, Busti-Sugar Grove in Busti

Steve Strickland Duo: 8 p.m., Frewsburg Legion, 9 Meadow Lane in Frewsburg

DJ Karaoke: 9 p.m., Big Shots, 674 Route 394 in Kennedy

DJ Fish Retirement Party followed by DJ Xcite: 9 p.m., Shawbucks, 212 W. Second St. in Jamestown

The Lowered with Vedic and The Dredneks: 10 p.m., The Q, 104 W. Second St. in Jamestown

Jim Levinthal and the Dirty Mother Effers: 10 p.m., Bullfrog Hotel, 1414 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Mala Sangre: 10 p.m., Mojo’s Music Bar, 104 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Saturday

“Despicable Me 3” screening: 2 p.m., Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, 116 E. Third St. in Jamestown

Ryan Buzzetto: 7 p.m., Celoron Moose, 52 Dunham Ave. in Celoron

Mike Gerholdt: 8 p.m., Busti Tap House, Busti-Sugar Grove Road in Busti

Jules-R-Us Karaoke featuring Tami T: 9 p.m., Good Time Saloon, 590 Fairmount Ave. in Jamestown

Day Old Soup: 9 p.m., Jamestown Moose, 405 E. Fifth St. in Jamestown

Strange Kind of Sunshine: 9 p.m., Big Shots, 674 Route 394 in Kennedy

Steve Strickland Duo: 9 p.m., Lakewood Legion, 174 Chautauqua Ave. in Lakewood

We Speak Canadian: 10 p.m., Shawbucks, 212 W. Second St. in Jamestown

Steelhorse: 10 p.m., Bullfrog Hotel, 1414 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Morganthus with The Thunderskulls: 10 p.m., Mojo’s Music Bar, 104 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Sunday

The Freeze: 2 p.m., The Vegas Pad, 1064 Route 394 in Kennedy

Open Jam: 9 p.m., Bullfrog Hotel, 1414 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Monday

Open Jam: 10:30 p.m., Mojo’s Music Bar, 104 E. Second St. in Jamestown

Wednesday

“Dunkirk” screening: 7 p.m., Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, 116 E. Third St. in Jamestown