Thank you all to those who have helped us in preparation for our grand opening. There are too many of you to mention and there are a bunch of you whom we are extremely grateful to especially the hard work such as cleaning and painting. You know who you are.

Thanks to all our staff for their effort. We know that you worked extremely hard.

Thanks to all our patrons for joining us in the celebration and we offer our sincere apology from the bottom of our hearts for some of you who had waited too long for your food. We promise to better our service as soon as possible.

Thank you for celebrating your birthday with us.

Thanks to all the princes and princesses that attended this joyful event.

We sincerely apologize to all our customers who came to dance to Latino music on Cinco De Mayo day. Our pay per view event drew such a large crowd and most of them wanted to listen to the play by play commentators. So we turned down the music and turned up the volume on our big screen TVs. Sorry to disappoint some of you and next year, I would do one but not both at the same time

.

Thanks to Lawrence R family for celebrating Mother's Day with us.

Welcome to the real world. Everyone in the family is very proud of you.

Thanks for celebrating your Jack and Jill at Flavours.

Thanks to Renee Burke for organizing the surprise party at Flavours and many thanks to those who showed up for this special occasion. Hope to see you all on the 4th Sunday of every month for a nite of Folk Jamming session.

Happy Birthday and many more happy years.

Thank you all for having your family re-union at Flavours.

Congratulating Sabrina for a job well done.

Thank you all for flying in from all over the country to be with your family at Flavours.

The entire place including RU Ready sang for Harry.

Happy Birthday Nick.

Happy Birthday JT. Fortunately Scott didn't tie you up with duct tape......

Happy Birthday Mr. Keegan and now you're legal to drink but remember to drink responsibly....

Happy Birthday Mr. Parker. Remember that at Flavours, you're family.......

This is the crew of videographers and sound recorders that responsible for the upcoming DVD of James Taylor that filmed at the Colonial theater in Pittsfield.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Savage.

Congrats to Jason for graduating from electrical school.

Getting a lap dance from your wife for your graduation  is FREE....   Getting it infront of your parents is PRICELESS......

Jason's proud parents flew all the way from Florida to party with us.....

We all wish you good luck with your new job at Greylock Bank.

We'll meet again at Flavours.......

Darlene & John.

Birthday wishes from all your 'bosses'....

The hardest working guy we've ever met.........

Food fight.......

Happy Birthday.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on this special day.

Thank you Sheri for organizing this wonderful party...

TURDUCKEN= turkey, duck and chicken all in one...

Enda is the chef for a nite..

Jeff is having a piece of turducken...

Sam and Shaun joining in the party.

Juan doing merengue with Sabrina......

Collum, Mikey and Martin having a conversation....

Eugene and Harrry is doing the Redemption song ala Bob Marley...

Christmas present from Eugene to Sabrina.....

That what the boys do after a few drinks.........

Musical cure for cabin feverBy Jeremy D. Goodwin, Special to The EagleArticle Last Updated: 03/06/2008 01:12:58 PM EST
Friday, March 07LENOX
In the jam band scene, a two-day music festival usually means sunburn, outdoor camping, and bonfires. Not this time.

The music lovers who descend upon Flavours at Econolodge in Lenox tonight and tomorrow for the second-annual Mountain Dog Winter Fest are likely to bring some of their summer spirit, though the ice outside may prove troublesome for anyone trying to navigate the parking lot in Birkenstocks.

Billed as a fully indoor music festival, the event will feature 14 bands on three stages, lots of diverse vendors and, given the party's location adjacent to a restaurant, lots and lots of food. Special ticket packages are available for those who would like to stay overnight at the motel.

The event is pulled together mainly by Tor Krautter, the namesake and guiding spirit of Berkshire jam band stalwart, The Rev Tor Band.

"I think people are getting a little bit of cabin fever and this is something to do," the unofficial "Reverend" says. "A lot of our fan base loves the festival scene and I think you miss it in the winter time, I think this gives you a little taste of the 'festie' season in the middle of winter."

The Mountain Dog AdvertisementWinter Fest will feature many familiar faces among the Berkshire- and regionally based bands that fit under the wide umbrella of jam band music. Tor's jam rock will be complimented by the reggae and dub sounds of Roots of Creation, the horn-aided funk of Fungus Amungus, the grab bag of progressive rock and electronica-tinged psychedelia brought by Domino Theory, and a whole other host of flavors. One stage will be dedicated wholly to acoustic bands.

A main attraction will be two side projects involving members of Connecticut-based Max Creek, who also will be celebrating an incredible 37 years on the road in April with two shows at Eastover in Lenox.

The improbably timed festival should provide a boon for the bands as well as their fans, says Al Lucas of Domino Theory. Lucas grew up in Dalton and his band is based in Pittsfield.

"People are spread out in the wintertime and when you have bands that rely on music festivals to get those people together to sell CDs, to sell merchandise, to promote themselves, it doesn't happen through the winter months," Lucas says. "It goes up and down like a rollercoaster. Every winter it lags and every summer it comes back."

Although the revival of the Mahaiwe Center for the Performing Arts and the Colonial Theatre (as well as the adventurous musical programming at Mass MoCa) bode well for the future, the days are long gone when, say, The Who played Tanglewood. (Yes, that happened in 1970.) But the county's spate of smaller rock venues provides ample territory for up-and-coming bands to hone their live chops and build a following among younger fans who may appreciate James Mercer of The Shins more than — gasp — James Taylor.

The Rev Tor Band celebrated its 12th anniversary in February with a show at La Cocina in Pittsfield, where Krautter has now donned the promoter's cap and books the gigs at the venue. The band regularly plays up and down its home base of Berkshire County. Krautter says the expansive field known as jam band music features open-minded music fans who are willing to try something new.

"I think it's growing and growing. I think you're seeing a lot of more mainstream acts and people in the business finding the value in it and finding how big of market it really is," Krautter says.

"There's no shortage of talent around here," he adds. "I've always been able to find incredible, top-notch players to play with. We're pretty centrally located and it's not too far to get just about anywhere in the Northeast from here. It's a good place to call home base."

The local live scene doesn't look in danger of making anyone rich, but it provides a chance for folks like Krautter — who makes his main living running three seasonally operated greenhouses in Stephentown, N.Y. — to pursue their passion.

Lucas concedes that "getting paid is actually a lot harder than playing the music," but he says the rewards come in the details, such as his band's experience running a workshop for children interested in learning to play music at the Gathering of the Vibes festival in Bridgeport, Conn.

That whirlwind weekend found members of Domino Theory onstage with funk icon George Clinton. The best moments may have come backstage, Lucas says with a chuckle, where the band's artist passes gave them access to the "40-foot buffet."

"You sit down next to (former Grateful Dead members) Bob Weir and Donna Godchaux and have lunch with them. It's like a dream, man, it's like a dream."

The Mountain Dog Winter Fests looks to build off of the success of the sold-out New Year's Eve show at Flavors featuring The Rev Tor Band and Domino Theory. That show also featured ticket packages including rooms at the motel, in an effort to dissuade patrons from drinking and driving. (The venue's management says that more events of a similar nature should be on tap if the success continues.)

Five bands will play on two stages tonight, from 7 p.m. until about 12:30 a.m. Then the music starts again at noon tomorrow at a third stage on the premises. Flavours will have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night snacks available.

Strangers Helping Strangers will conduct a food drive for a Berkshire County food bank; patrons are encourages to bring non-perishable food items to donate.

The end result should be a family reunion for fans and bands alike.

"It's important to us that people in Berkshire County realize that we're out there on the road and when people ask where we're from we say 'Berkshire County, Massachusetts' and we say it proud," Lucas says. "We're not out there on the road getting all messed up and disrespecting where we're coming from. We want to bring people together. We want to bring family and friends together."

They'll get the chance this weekend.

In concert
What: Second Annual Mountain Dog Winter Fest

Who: Rev Tor Band & Friends, Murawski & Mercier of Max Creek, Fungus Amungus, Depth Quartet Trio, Roots of Creation, Scarecrow Collection, The Kind Buds, Brett Connors of Flipper Dave, Domino Theory, Unexplained Bacon, Dave Halchak of Breadbox Band, The Equalities, Chris Merenda of The Mammals, and Jeff Bujak

When: Tonight 7-12:30 a.m. (doors open 6 p.m.); tomorrow noon-1 a.m. (doors open 11 a.m.)

Where: Flavours, Econolodge, 130 Pittsfield Road (Route 7 & 20), Lenox

Tickets: $30 Weekend Pass; $20 per day (available at door only); $5 surcharge for under 21 (must be 18) at the door

How: at the door; in advance — (413) 528-5888; www.myspace.com/mountaindogwinterfest; at Brighter Daze (Great Barrington), Wild Things (Berkshire Mall, Lanesborough), La Cocina (Pittsfield), Dead Ahead (New Lebanon, N.Y.)Turn-It-Up (Northampton), About Music (Greenfield)