Saturday, May 30, 2009
Spike's Beach Grill 5/29/09
Joe Maddox joined Dan Holmes Group (as well as Duke Tumatoe), replacing Devon Ashley. Tonight was Joe's first gig with us, and he did fantastic! He is a young pro player, and I look forward to working with him a bunch. This outdoor gig went great, but since it was in the 40's after the sun went down, people went inside before we finished. Still a great show!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Howl At The Moon 5/26/09
A pretty decent crowd for a Tuesday at the famous dueling piano club in downtown Indy tonight. We ran through tons of fan favorites and had some fun during our band sets. Rob even pulled out Harry Connick's version of "Jambalaya On The Bayou" during one of the band sets!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Mohican North Star Casino 5/23/09
So Duke told (drummer) Devon Ashley that his hair reminded him of Art Garfunkel, if Art were black. That turned into us all calling Devon "Blackfunkel" all night. This is a great name for a young, black, funk drummer, and Devon said he thinks he'll keep it!
We packed up and drove home (which only took seven hours) to arrive in Indianapolis on race Sunday, at which point Bill Ritter made me drive him to his home.
In Speedway, Indiana, three blocks from the 500.
At 9:45am, on race Sunday.
Thanks, Bill!
Also, this was Devon's last gig with us. He has his own band, with other members of his family, which is gaining momentum. Best of luck to him in his new adventures as "Blackfunkel"!!!
We packed up and drove home (which only took seven hours) to arrive in Indianapolis on race Sunday, at which point Bill Ritter made me drive him to his home.
In Speedway, Indiana, three blocks from the 500.
At 9:45am, on race Sunday.
Thanks, Bill!
Also, this was Devon's last gig with us. He has his own band, with other members of his family, which is gaining momentum. Best of luck to him in his new adventures as "Blackfunkel"!!!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Mohican North Star Casino 5/22/09
Longest.
Drive.
Ever.
Imagine, if you will, leaving at noon for a gig that doesn't start until 10pm. You assume that will give you plenty of time, even though it's Memorial Day Weekend, to get to your show in Bowler, WI. Enough extra time to check in to your hotel, eat, set up your gear and then play until 1am.
NO.
It took us, with two 10 minute breaks, nine hours and forty-five minutes to get there. We drove to the middle of nowhere, and then drove two more hours to reach the casino!
Besides the drive, this was a fun gig. The casino was great with a super-helpful staff. We got on stage about 10 minutes late after loading in, but the show was cake. Duke's friend, Lloyd, was there, and we had a chance to talk about his old days touring with R.E.O. Speedwagon and Chick Corea,
More fun here tomorrow...
Drive.
Ever.
Imagine, if you will, leaving at noon for a gig that doesn't start until 10pm. You assume that will give you plenty of time, even though it's Memorial Day Weekend, to get to your show in Bowler, WI. Enough extra time to check in to your hotel, eat, set up your gear and then play until 1am.
NO.
It took us, with two 10 minute breaks, nine hours and forty-five minutes to get there. We drove to the middle of nowhere, and then drove two more hours to reach the casino!
Besides the drive, this was a fun gig. The casino was great with a super-helpful staff. We got on stage about 10 minutes late after loading in, but the show was cake. Duke's friend, Lloyd, was there, and we had a chance to talk about his old days touring with R.E.O. Speedwagon and Chick Corea,
More fun here tomorrow...
Friday, May 22, 2009
Zydeco's 5/21/09
Bill and I once again played for an awesome crowd at Zydeco's. We started with a bunch of older stuff because the average age of the people in there was, like, 80. After 7pm, we kicked it in to full gear and had a blast!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Howl At The Moon 5/19/09
They called me in to sub at Howl tonight. It was a little slow due to a concert at Conseco Fieldhouse. Two unknown piano players were performing there, Billy-something and Elton-the-other-guy. Boy, when that concert got out at 11:00, Howl filled up to max capacity. We left the stage at nearly two on a Tuesday!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Broad Ripple Art Fair 5/17/09
So this was the gig I was looking forward to all weekend...and I was right to do so! A beautiful day, awesome artwork everywhere, and a healthy lack of sleep made this show a blast. My wife took some great photos of us, and the crowd was very responsive to our music. These are the shows that make me happy to be a musician.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Indiana Live Casino 5/16/09
The last of a three night stand at the Shelbyville, Indiana casino was fun, but painful. My hands and arms were hurting so bad from yesterday, I didn't think the end of the night would arrive. My wife came out and ate dinner with me, and then found out how quickly you can lose ten dollars in a slot machine. We loaded out our gear fast, mostly because Devon was playing the house (electronic) drum set and we used their P.A. A good night, we had fun, and we'll be back in October!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Indiana Live Casino 5/15/09
Night two at the casino, gig two of the day, was pretty fun. We had a chance to eat at the restaurant in the casino, which was great food. Many more people came out to listen, and we played till two!
Howl At The Moon 5/15/09
Bill Ritter, Devon Ashley and I played to a packed house tonight in Indy. This was the first of two gigs tonight (we headed straight from Howl to the casino). I did something really stupid before playing two shows in one night, and the stupid thing I refer to is I mowed my grass. Even though I couldn't feel my arms after hour one (of six), I still had fun. We had a great response, and saw a few people we hadn't seen in a long time! I had a couple of old friends from high school come out who I hadn't seen since about 1993! Hope to see them again soon!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Indiana Live Casino 5/14/09
This was our first time in the new building in Shelbyville. Before when we played here, we were in the million dollar tent outside! It's very disorienting to perform at 6:00pm in a casino. There weren't many people there to watch the show, mostly they just did the slot thing. The sun was up and beating in the casino through giant red-tinted windows which gave everything an odd pink glow. Just about the time we ended (9:40pm) people began to come in. A least tomorrow we start later.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Howl At The Moon 5/12/09
I helped the fellas out at Howl in Indy tonight. For a Tuesday, we had a pretty decent crowd. We all took turns at the piano, bass and drums. It took them a little while to get into the swing of things, but al in all, it was a good night.
At the end of the night Noel Leaman, a dueler from Rum Runners, popped in to say hi!
At the end of the night Noel Leaman, a dueler from Rum Runners, popped in to say hi!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Howl At The Moon 5/8/09
Devon Ashley, Bill Ritter and I rocked the downtown Indianapolis nightclub tonight. It was packed, wall-to-wall, with people ready to start their weekend off right, so we pounded though two hours of rocking piano stuff. We even heard somebody clap!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Zydeco's 5/7/09
We had a great crowd tonight in Mooresville, IN. I told the staff about Bill's birthday, so we sang to him, and Deb gave him a shirt & some coffee. Happy Birthday, Bill!!!
Static Shack 5/7/09
Doug Henthorn and I joined Duke Tumatoe to record some backing vocal tracks for Duke's new CD today. I had a student from Avon, IN (Zach Terry) job shadow me, and he took some pics of us in the studio!
Monday, May 4, 2009
B.L.U.E.S. 5/3/09
For Bill Ritter's birthday (5/4), we performed at B.L.U.E.S. in Chicago with Duke Tumatoe. Three sets ending at 2:30 am Indianapolis time and then drove three hours home. The gig itself was fun, but the anticipation of returning home was what kept me going. The fun fact for the evening: I found out from Big Ray that B.L.U.E.S. stands for Big Legs Under Every Skirt....aahhhheeemmmm.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Red Stone Room 5/2/09
Tonight in Davenport, IA, the show was at the Red Stone Room. This place is very neat venue dedicated to music education. We played to a packed house with a great sound system. One guy told us we didn't suck! Thanks!
http://www.redstoneroom.com
http://www.redstoneroom.com
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Blues On Grand 5/1/09
We checked in to the Hotel Fort Des Moines about 6:00pm to find two very different conventions happening at the hotel. First, the DemiCon, a Klingons and Wonder Women sort of event, and second, was the Women Of Faith, which is kind of obvious. Bill and I watched X-Men in honor of the convention, then headed to the club at about 8:45pm. The club was packed, wall-to-wall with Duke fans singing along until after 2:00am. This was a fun gig!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Big Cities Lounge 4/30/09
We pulled up to the club in Rockford, IL about an hour or so before show time. They showed us the green room, and let us set up our gear. The owner had a megaphone and would regularly shout out things to the band between songs. A small club, but the crowd was mighty. Lots of odd little comments and sounds made the night memorable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)