Monday, August 30, 2010
Art Street 8/29/10
Green Bay, WI is a hard seven-and-a-half hours from Indianapolis. Our show was at 2pm (3pm Indy time). We didn't get to bed until almost 4am from Modoc last night, and we had to be on the road to Green Bay by 7am, which means we started our seven-and-a-half hour drive with only two-and-a-half hours of sleep. We arrived just in time to set up and begin playing our three-hour-long show, when I realized I was going to be sitting in the 95 degree, afternoon sun. My keyboard got so hot, I burned my hand on it badly enough it blistered. When we finished, Bill and I headed to our hotel and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel buffet (which felt like we were crashing a wedding party, due to the wedding band and the bride & groom dancing) and then fell asleep at about 8pm. We were back on the road Monday morning at 7am so I could make it home in time for one of my last days of giving lessons in Avon, IN before I move. We made it back at 2:45pm. My first lesson was at 3pm.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wilson Winery 8/28/10
Wilson Winery in Modoc, IN was nice tonight. Not too hot, not too buggy. Just a good night for some blues. The people are always ready for fun at the winery, which may have something to do with the wine. I know Bill Ritter (bass) showed up frustrated, but left without a care in the world! Joe Maddox's (drums) wife took some pics while we were performing, and the longer the night went, the blurrier the photos were. By the time we finished, packed up, and headed home, it was past 3am...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Spike's Beach Grill 8/27/10
Once again, we drove to Warsaw, IN to perform at Spike's, but this time was different in the fact that we had great weather. The past couple of times we were here, it rained, which really puts strain on an outdoor show. Also, we were treated to some of the oddest comments of any show.
People said the strangest things like, to Joe, "Can I jam out on your drum set for, like, 20 seconds?" When Joe said no, the guy's response was, "I can't understand you, but thanks for being polite."
Then a bit later, a guy came up to the stage and told Bill there was a girl who would like to meet him. Bill was feeling pretty smug until she came up and said, "You remind me of my father. He's been dead for two years."
The best was the extremely inebriated girl who waited until we were hitting our last note of the evening to say, "ALL I WANT IS MUSTANG SALLY!" and when I said we were done, she said, "That sucks, but you were great. Come on....Mustang Sally??"
Strange.
People said the strangest things like, to Joe, "Can I jam out on your drum set for, like, 20 seconds?" When Joe said no, the guy's response was, "I can't understand you, but thanks for being polite."
Then a bit later, a guy came up to the stage and told Bill there was a girl who would like to meet him. Bill was feeling pretty smug until she came up and said, "You remind me of my father. He's been dead for two years."
The best was the extremely inebriated girl who waited until we were hitting our last note of the evening to say, "ALL I WANT IS MUSTANG SALLY!" and when I said we were done, she said, "That sucks, but you were great. Come on....Mustang Sally??"
Strange.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Kickapoo Kick 8/21/10
ABATE of Indiana had us out to their rally in Attica, IN for a night of Duke's blues, "bikini" contests, and BBQ pork sandwiches. It was hot & humid, but bearable with our Stanley fans blowing on us. The stage lights warmed the area quite a bit, so when we exited the stage, the 85 degree night felt cool. My dad told me that my blog entries have sounded a little stressed recently, so I'll end with a knock-knock joke, are you ready? Ok, I'll finish the joke after you start it...go ahead...say knock, knock...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Howl At The Moon 8/20/10
Tonight was crazy-packed in downtown Indy. We did the usual fight songs and requests. For those of you who have never been to a dueling piano bar, just picture a couple of hundred of your friends and friends-of-friends at a party, all getting drunk and singing along to the stereo. Now, substitute "live musicians" for "stereo" and you kinda get the idea. I can't remember the last time I was this tired...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Howl At The Moon 8/19/10
Another night of college kids drinking $1.00 beer and requesting songs which I'm amazed they know, like "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins or some random Mr. Mister tune. So, let me get this straight; in the 70's, it was cool to listen to 50's music (Grease, Sha-Na-Na), in the 90's, 70's music was cool, and in 2010, we're getting deep into the 80's? Why are we always 20 years behind?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Howl At The Moon 8/18/10
Howl At The Moon was pretty busy for a Tuesday in Indianapolis tonight. Jay Jones and I rocked a few tunes, while Jeremy played drums and Rob played piano across from me. The song I played tonight I hadn't played before? "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones. How true that song felt last night...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Stones Throw Winery 8/14/10
I don't know why, but I was not mentally prepared for our drive today. For some reason, I had it in my head that the show in Egg Harbor, WI, was only an hour or so north of Milwaukee. Boy, was I wrong. It's more like three-and-a-half hours away. So because I wasn't ready for that drive, I found myself becoming more-and more irritable. Most people on the road were driving like idiots, and I had the realization that when we finished our show, It would be a three-and-a-half hour drive back to Milwaukee after midnight. The show would have been ok, but I'm not sure how experienced the sound guy was. He had great equipment, but maybe not the best at running it. I dunno. I guess he could've been having an off night. Someone in the crowd bought our meal for us (thank you) and the show was fine after people had some wine and loosened up. I guess from now on, we shouldn't watch documentaries (like the one we saw in the car on our trip to the winery) about how the music industry is failing right before a show...
Waukesha Bluesfest 8/13/10
Sometimes, a five hour drive is a pain. Sometimes it can be fun. Oddly enough, our five hour trip to Delafield, WI, was insightful. Bill Ritter and I talked about the future of music, career goals, life, family, MST3K, and then ended with our views on how lyrics can tell more about a band than you would ever want to know. It was rainy for most of our stay, but the blues fest was well prepared with circus-sized tents, large enough for Duke to quip "You can almost smell the elephants" several times in the show.A good friend of the band, Lloyd, showed up and shared some laughs before we hit the stage. We performed just before Tommy Castro, and then headed back to the hotel for some shut eye before we got back on the road for more road wisdom with Bill on Saturday.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Zydeco's 8/12/10
Zydeco's in Moorseville, IN was celebrating their 12th anniversary this month, so DHG was there to help with the festivities. I was nervous at the beginning of the show because Bill (bass), Jake (guitar) and I were set-up and ready to perform, we hadn't seen Joe (drums). He arrived with about 10 minutes to spare, and was really frustrated. When we asked what was wrong, he said some of his drum equipment was removed from his car, so he wasn't sure how he could do the show. He was missing a snare drum and a kick pedal for his bass drum, which really only left hi hats. Fortunately, Deb's son had a snare Joe was able to use, and he turned his kick on it's side to play it with a stick. I was very impressed by how tight he kept the groove all night with that set up. The night was fun, and the crowd was crazy, once again. See you back at Zydeco's for brunch Sept. 5th!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Side Street Deli 8/11/10
This morning, Ron "Poncho" Hedrick of the band "Blackberry Jam" called me to do a gig with him at a deli in downtown Indy. We ran through a bunch of jazz & blues tunes for the lunch crowd, and I had a good time performing in a laid-back atmosphere. Ponch's co-workers and some of his family showed up, and I had a few friends stop in just for lunch, not knowing I would be there, and hung out for the show. It went well, and I'll be back next Wednesday to perform with him again, same time, 11:30a-1:30p.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
White River State Park 8/8/10
This was probably the best way to end a hectic week. Bill Ritter and I performed as a duo for a matinee production of Shakespeare's "Two Gentleman Of Verona". The setting was beautiful, it was a great stage, some old friends came out to see the show, and best of all, the crowd was interested and appreciative of what we were doing. I used every last drop of energy to get down there today, but it was worth it. I hope the play went well under the direction of Michael Shelton. Thanks for having us today!
Here is a link to the performance group:
http://www.heartlandactors.com/
Here is a link to the performance group:
http://www.heartlandactors.com/
Blues Club 8/7/10
When we arrived in Mt. Prospect, IL for tonight's show, we had about three hours to kill, so we went to go see the movie, "The Other Guys". Pretty funny, but kinda long. Anyway, when we arrived at the club, there was a huge classic car show happening in the parking lot, and Joe found his dream car. Truthfully, I think we all wanted that car. Pretty sweet. We played all night to a crowd pretending to enjoy the night, and we packed up and headed home at about 3:30am (Indy time). I ended up hitting the sack at about 7:00am, after setting my alarm for 10:30am to get downtown for a show with Bill Ritter, which started at 11:45am. I may still be asleep.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Mohican North Star Casino 8/6/10
This drive gets me every time. 8+ hours northwest of Green Bay, WI, to perform at a casino in Bowler, WI. Add in the construction and Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay traffic, and it's a headache (and a footache in a stick shift). At one point, we were stuck for about 45 minutes behind the "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" tour bus. Eventually, we made it to the casino.The people are always great to us at the casino. I just wish after a long drive we had some time to relax before we had to perform. I guess we could leave earlier, but my gig last night kept me out until almost 4:30am, and I was in the car heading to Bowler by 9:30am, so I don't think physically I could've left any earlier. Sleep is overrated, anyway.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Howl At The Moon 8/5/10
Originally, I was supposed to perform at Howl tonight. Then, last week, I got a call saying they didn't need me to fill-in after all. That same day, I received a call from Duke's booking agent asking if I could find someone to cover Howl, because he had a gig lined up. I told him I had just been called and cancelled for that night, but I hadn't had a chance to update my schedule online yet. Duke's agent was happy. A week went by, then yesterday, I finally heard from Duke's agent that he couldn't get the show. So for about 10 hours, I didn't have a gig lined up. This morning I got a text from one of the Howl players saying he was sick, and asking if I could fill in for tonight. So I did. I still haven't had a chance to update my schedule, and now I'm so confused, I don't know how...
At least it was a fun night.
At least it was a fun night.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Speedway United Methodist Church Childcare 8/4/10
Jake Hahn and I have been giving guitar/harmonica lessons at the daycare all summer, and tonight was the big performance! I brought DHG in to play some instrumental versions of country western songs, and we all put on our best shirts and hats (except Joe) to perform for the kids. What was the only down side of the night, you ask? It has been one of the hottest summers I can remember, and today was no exception. Upper 90s, with a heat index of over 100, which would have been fine, but the air conditioner broke the day of the performance. Of course, the heat problem couldn't have been any worst, due to the church holding a max-capacity crowd, kids dancing and jumping, lots of people singing, and we were all wearing cowboy hats. Except Joe.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Zydeco's Brunch 8/1/10
People screaming and cheering! Jake Hahn soloing! Bill Ritter going crazy! Brian Yarde destroying the beat! DanHolmesGroup at ZYDECO'S!!!! Brunch, as always, was delicious. We performed a bunch of tunes, and allowed the songs to stretch and breath, which made performing them a treat. I love my job, especially when doing shows like this. Once again, my wife took some great photos of the band for us. Thanks, Christine!
Creek Fest 7/31/10
The last day of July in Selma, IN held hot-air balloon rides, food vendors, fireworks, and a bunch of live music. Bands performed all day long, and we closed out the night with Duke Tumatoe. The P.A. was too small for the venue, and because of the weather, the sound man had his mixer set up 40' behind the stage. I don't know if people could hear us or not, but we made the best of the time we had. This was the first "annual" fest, so I hope it went well enough for them to throw a second one!
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