The Buffalodown, Vol. 2, Issue 35
Stories & Events for Social Connection
- Meet the panelists for ICE & Immigration in WNY event on 11/5
- Musings on Music: RIP Jim Ehinger and Mike Phelps
- Featured Events: 25 this week, always encouraging submissions!
- Links to the Deep End: Mayoral race, ICE & immigration
By Seamus Gallivan
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“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” – Mr. Rogers
On that note, meet the helpers brought together by Investigative Post for a panel and presentation on ICE & Immigration in Western New York next Wednesday, November 5th, at the Unitarian Universalist Church (695 Elmwood Ave, 7pm) – free admission, please join us!
Pamela Bos Kefi, CEO of Journey’s End Refugee Services, which helps refugees settle in the Western New York region. She previously served as executive director of the International Institute of Buffalo. Kefi’s career in refugee and human services began when she was a PeaceCorps volunteer in Tunisia.
Jennifer Connor, executive director of Justice for Migrant Families, which provides support to those detained at the ICE detention center in Batavia and their families. Her previous advocacy has included work for the Green Light New York campaign, the Fund Excluded Workers coalition and national movements resisting global militarization and nuclearism.
Brittany Triggs, immigration attorney for the Erie County Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Project. who represents immigrants in removal proceedings and before U.S. Customs and Immigration Services. She previously worked in immigrant-serving legal service organizations in Miami and Chicago and taught English in Honduras.
Ba Zan Lin, an asylum seeker-turned U.S. citizen from Burma and a leader in the Burmese community here in Buffalo. He will discuss his background as a political asylee who later became an American citizen. He is a strong advocate for immigrant rights.
The program will begin with a presentation by I-Post reporter J. Dale Shoemaker on ICE raids, arrests and detentions of migrants in the region and the detention center in Batavia.
More upcoming events being presented by Investigative Post include:
- A book club discussion on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. at Fitz Books, 1462 Main St., on The Death of Truth by Steven Brill.
- Geoff Kelly and Jim Heaney interviewing mayor-in-waiting Sean Ryan on Friday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. the Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave.
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Musings on Music
RIP Jim Ehinger and Mike Phelps
Many in Buffalo’s music community are mourning the passing of two stalwarts of the scene, especially the orbit around the Sportsmen’s Tavern where I met them both – drummer Mike Phelps and keyboardist Jim Ehinger.
Mike Phelps (9/21/53-10/17/25) was born and raised in Niagara Falls, according to his bio by Elmer Ploetz upon introduction to the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame (BMHOF), which mentions his decades of drumming for many local acts including albums and overseas tours, as well as a break with Bo Diddley that included en episode of “Live from the Lone Star Cafe” in New York City, shown below. Elmer also notes that we can thank Mike and his connection to Bo for bringing to the Sportsmen’s the guitarist Elliot Randall, most known for his lead on Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ in the Years.”
Mike’s touching obituary describes him as as I knew him – “humble, warm and quietly present” – and notes a celebration of life will happen at the Sportsmen’s at noon on November 30th.
Mike Phelps above, photo from the BMHOF; and as mentioned in his bio, a stint with Bo Diddley below.
Jim Ehinger (12/6/48-10/25/25) had such a feel for what keys any given song called for that he accompanied titanic artists from Buffalo to LA, NYC and back, with at least a few legendary moments along the way – while his Buffalo Music Hall of Fame bio notes that his rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue” opened the 1984 Olympics in LA and he served as Dennis Quaid’s piano coach for the movie “Great Balls of Fire,” perhaps his most notable moment happened as part of the touring band of Taj Mahal, who was so revered that on one night in LA in 1987, they were joined onstage by Bob Dylan, George Harrison and John Fogerty, and the latter became so inspired – or maybe more so goaded by Dylan – that on the spot, he let go of his decade-long legal and mental challenges to playing his classic Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, and turned to Jim to kick into “Proud Mary.”
The videos below are Fogerty telling the story including now Dylan nudged him, and then the whole show set to start at the part in which Dylan’s epic nudge is audible, as his Jim’s playing so gloriously. And another thanks to the BMHOF for this photo of Jim as part of the core of the annual tribute to The Band’s Last Waltz, which was built on my pitch of a dream cast of Buffalo players to recreate it, Jim included.
Finally, another legendary appearance by Jim that I only learned about through one of the many tributes to him on Facebook, this one from drummer and frequent bandmate Rob Lynch: “A tough week for our music scene. I played many gigs with Jim over the years with Doug Yeomans and Steve Sadoff. Jim was a total master of the keyboard. The child in me loved that he played piano on Billy Vera’s ‘“At This Moment,” which was prominently featured in a Family Ties episode. In the [mid] 80s, when everyone was glued to the TV set watching mostly the same prime time shows, Jim’s piano became part of our collective culture.”
Jim, Mike, and the late Willie Schoellkopf, who was memorialized in this space after his passing last year, taken in 2019 by Black Rock EPS owner Jason Hall as they recorded Willie’s only solo album, “Dee Dah Doo.”
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org
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Links to the Deep End
Deeper dives into subjects that matter for social connection
- Repeating this one as early voting polls remain open – Investigative Post has profiled the three candidates on the ballot for Buffalo mayor: Sean Ryan, Michael Gainer and James Gardner. Ryan was profiled back in June before the Democratic primary in which he prevailed; I endorsed him here then, and do again, with optimism that he’ll proceed with clear eyes through the deep problems left by decades (centuries?) of dysfunction in city hall.
- For folks interested in ICE & immigration in advance of Investigative Post’s panel and presentation on ICE & Immigration in WNY next Wednesday night, some long-form podcast listening on the subject: BTPM’s What’s Next on Refugees & Resilience in Buffalo; Vox’s Today Explained asked, “Can you sue ICE”; WBUR’s Here & Now interviews a “former ICE director on why immigration raids are making U.S. less safe”; and below, the Partnership for the Public Good “explores how steep shifts in federal immigration policy are affecting Buffalo Niagara’s immigrant communities.”
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
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