Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Bob & Tom Show 9/30/09

Tommy Emmanuel was the guest just before we went on, and he was fantastic! What a great guitarist and extremely nice guy. Mark Rohrman had a photo for Tommy to sign, and during the confusion of him leaving while we were coming in, Tommy misunderstood and ended up signing Mark's bass! Mark was nervous about not being able to get the permanent marker off his hand-made, Hoffner-esq 5-string, but he did get it removed. I'm not sure if his picture was signed...

Duke had some great lines in his song this morning, and there was also a few odd breaks with phone calls and an accidental play of the "bass talk" theme. All-in-all, a very confusing show this morning.
Dan Holmes in front of Bob & Tom's studio


Howl At The Moon 9/29/09

I was called in at the last minute to duel in downtown Indy tonight. It was kind of slow, but we still had fun. The crowd was requesting good stuff (Paul Simon, Beatles) and it's always fun playing with Jay, Rob and Jeremy.


Monday, September 28, 2009

Club Tavern 9/27/09


Joe Solos
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group
Quincy, IL is not exactly "on the way home" from Ft. Madison, IA, but we spent Sunday afternoon there anyway. A great crowd came out and packed the bar.
The show started off kind of rocky because the power went out on us for two different songs early in our first show. After they fixed the power issue, we performed until 8p to an intoxicated crowd who had some trouble when Duke asked them to "Repeat after me..."
Club Tavern in Quincy, IL
It was fun, but six hours to drive home was a bit much on a super-windy night.


Sunday, September 27, 2009

Captain Kirk's Marina 9/26/09

So Ft. Madison, IA held a party featuring Duke Tumatoe. The only problem was, no one was ready for a party. The bar started off with about 40 very quiet people. Our second set was performed to about 20. Our third set, the band and the crowd were equally numbered.

We still played well, and the few who were there, quietly, enjoyed themselves. Mostly, I'll remember this show as quiet.


Friday, September 25, 2009

Zydeco's 9/24/09

We performed for a great crowd at Zydeco's tonight! The main reason was they wanted a full house with a band for photos for Chef Carter's new cookbook (due out later this year). Mojo Gumbo showed up and rocked a few tunes (I played bass), mimes were singing their heads off and Karl Liechty soloed almost continuously over Joe Maddox's wigged drum beats!!! Joe and I switched off at one point, but quickly switched back. Bill Ritter found out that his HUGE bass fits inside his car, so now there is no excuse for him not to bring it!

I can hardly wait for the cookbook! All the mimes go WOOOO!!!


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Bob & Tom Show 9/23/09

Duke Tumatoe's songs were pretty funny this week on the show. My keyboard was mysteriously running in mono. I have no idea how, but it was something to do with the way I'm patched in to Bob's control desk. Oh well!

Mark's bass talk joke was good:
A bass player decided to get married so he told his mother. His mom asked, "What is she like?"
The bass player answered, "Well, I'll tell you what... I'll bring home three women for dinner tomorrow night, and you can try to guess which one I'll marry."
"Sounds fun!" she said.

So the next night, the bass player brought three women for dinner, and after they left, he turned to his mom and asked, "So, could you figure out which one I'm going to marry?"
His mother answered, "Yes. The redhead with the huge boobs."
The bass player said, "That's amazing! How did you know it was her?"

To which his mom replied, "Because I don't like her."


Sunday, September 20, 2009

Callahan's 9/19/09

Another fun blues club, this time in Auburn Hills, MI. This was much more of a listening crowd, and they paid attention to every note. Pete, the sound engineer, took some pics for us, in between keeping the band sounding great. Joe Maddox, our awesomely talented drummer, was so sleepy from the shows this week, I thought he was going to fall off his stool. He sounded great, even if he wasn't fully awake. Bill laid down an extra long solo, and the crowd loved it. Duke and I traded licks, and all-in-all, everybody went home happy.
The End.


Wayne State University 9/19/09

For our first of two gigs today, we performed pre-game and half-time at the Warriors football game. Our first set was 11:20am, but at least we didn't have to set up P.A. We had a good time and the hospitality was great. Mascots and football players and cheerleaders and marching bands and noisy fans and Duke Tumatoe, whose name was mispronounced all day long over the loudspeaker.
Duke Tumatoe Tunes Up Before Half-Time


Saturday, September 19, 2009

The 411 Club 9/18/09

Hiding in Kalamazoo, MI is a cool blues club. I'm not sure, but I think they've only been open about a year. They had full backline for us, including a 1959 Hammond B3 (with a busted "D" key). The crowd was thin, but they danced all night long. After the show, we headed over to the Radisson for a fast nap before heading to Detroit.
Duke Dances at The 411 Club The 411 Club in Kalamazoo, MI


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Bob & Tom Show 9/16/09

Duke had Tom question me about the XXX drive-in theater, which used to be across the street from the house I grew up in. My mother said it made it sound like she let us watch porn...
Speaking of which, Mark's Bass Talk joke was as follows:
"This bass player comes down off of the stage after his last set one night and a girl walks up to him to introduce herself. "I'm Carmen," she said.
The bass player said, "That's a pretty name!"
"Yeah, I didn't like the name my parents gave me, so I named myself after two things I love; cars & men! What's your name?" she asked.
The bass player quickly replied, "Beersex."


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Hurst Bean Plant Colts Tailgate 9/13/09

8:30am and we were already downtown Indianapolis, setting up our P.A. for the big Colts pre-game party. The show was fine, but people were a little too preoccupied to watch us closely. I was ready to go home seconds after we hit our last note. Now for some sleep...zzzz.....zzzz....
Colts Tailgate Party Our View From the Stage


Blues At The Crossroads Festival 9/12/09

Our third (and final) gig of the day took place in Terre Haute, IN at a huge blues fest. There had to have been 3,000 people in the street to see the show. Gov. Davis performed on Friday night, and he took some pictures for us, as well as another gentleman who gave us a CD-rom of his photos before we left. We had a great time, but I'm now past saying I'm exhausted....
Duke Tumatoe and Dan Holmes at Crossroads Blues Fest Bill Ritter at Crossroads Blues Fest Joseph Maddox at Crossroads Blues Fest


Penrod 9/12/09

The always great Penrod Art fest at the Indianapolis Museum Of Art was very fun this year. Matt Socey, one of the DJs from WFYI (NPR) interviewed myself and Duke Tumatoe for his live broadcast. We performed with Duke on the blues stage, right after Gordon Bonham Blues Band finished. It was a cool crowd this year, and we had a bunch of fans come out to see us. Thanks to all, and if all goes well, we'll return next year!
Howlin' Duke Tumatoe


Tour De Carmel 9/12/09

7:20am found Bill Ritter, Joe Maddox and myself in Carmel, Indiana, setting up for our first of three shows today. We performed for the good folks of Carmel at a stop on their bike tour. New people rode up, stopped for some water, and listened to us perform about every ten minutes for two hours. My wife came along to help us with gear and she took some cool photos. We left and headed straight down to the Indianapolis Museum Of Art for gig #2.
Dan Holmes' Hands 8_00am Gig Snare Hit Bill Ritter's Silhouette


Saturday, September 12, 2009

Bean Blossom Biker Fest 9/11/09

This show was not as big as the Boogie, but it was almost as crazy. Lots of semi-clothed, tattooed people all running around having a fun weekend. Duke thought we were supposed to perform until 11p, but when we took a break at 9:30p,, they told us we only played until 10p. So, we quickly jumped back on stage and performed for another half hour, then headed about an hour-and-a-half home to get some sleep for our big, crazy weekend!
Joseph Maddox in Bean Blossom, IN Bean Blossom Biker Fest


Friday, September 11, 2009

Zydeco's 9/10/09

Tonight was a blast at Zydeco's. Everybody was in a good mood, Carter prepared some awesome food, and Bill and I ran through tons of tunes. It was cool because it felt like the nights when we first began performing at Zydeco's. People were there to have a good time. I needed a night like this!


Thursday, September 10, 2009

Lake Michigan College 9/9/09

I found myself driving back to Michigan again at noon today, after the Bob and Tom show, to perform at a back-to-school function with Duke. There were inflatable jumpy things and BBQ (Bob BQ, as the signs read) and cheer teams and tents and nobody looking our way at all. They set us in a weird spot, kind of off to the side of everything. We still had fun, and the band sounded great.
Jumpy The Pirate Bill Ritter and Joseph Maddox


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Bob & Tom Show 9/9/09

It's that time of year again where we meet up for weekly songs on the Bob and Tom show! I waited in the green room for a while, because I arrived way too early.

It was good getting a chance to perform with Mark Rohrman again. He had a good Bass Talk joke this week. It went like this:
This bass player decided he needed to supplement his band income, so he decided to buy a stud german shepherd. A few days after he had the dog, the guitarist from the band calls the bass player to see how things were going.
"Terrible," said the bassist. "I can't get this dog to look at any other dog. He just sits around, scratching himself in front of the TV all day."
"Call the vet and see what he says," said the guitarist.
So a couple of days later, the guitarist calls back to see how his buddy was doing.
"Great," said the bassist. "The vet gave the dog some pills, and now it humps everything. It serviced all of my clients dogs, then broke out of my yard and chased down every female dog in the neighborhood."
"What kind of pills were they?" asked the guitarist.

To which the bass player replied, "I don't know, but they tasted like peppermint."


Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Labor Dayz 9/7/09

The annual Michigan City gig was great. Tons of people came out to see us. We performed two shows, and the crowd stayed for the duration. The P.A. company really took good care of us, and they even shot some pics for us, too!
Labor Dayz Fest in Michigan City-1 Labor Dayz Fest in Michigan City


Monday, September 7, 2009

Little River Casino 9/6/09

Our last night at the casino was long, mostly because we had to tear our gear down afterwards. We headed to the cafe to buy some snacks with our left over food allowance for the trip to Michigan City. All-in-all, a good weekend at the casino!
Little River Casino, Sunday Night-2


Sunday, September 6, 2009

Little River Casino 9/5/09

Our second night in the casino was a lot of fun. We made bunches of new fans, and ate bunches of bananas (it was the only healthy thing I could find in their cafe). People were much more into the show tonight, which made it easier on us, for sure. Joe and Bill found some oversized dice in the green room, so of course, they couldn't stop playing with them.
Fun In The Green Room Fun In The Green Room-1


Saturday, September 5, 2009

Little River Casino 9/4/09

Our first night in the northern Michigan casino was a bit slow. The people were very nice, but I don't think they knew what to make of us. Everyone was there to gamble, obviously, but they didn't expect a show they'd want to sit and watch. Odd.
Little River Casino, Friday Night-1


Friday, September 4, 2009

Zydeco's 9/3/09

Quite a few families came in to eat Carter's food and listen to Bill Ritter and I perform tonight. I made a video of a few songs, and I'll post it on YouTube soon. We were a little run down after the Green Bay show, and sure enough, Bill caught a cold.