It was a busy weekend

It started off Thursday over at Java Monkey in Decatur with the Adrian Ash Group.  We had a good night and played many originals from Guy & Jason.  I played my Tobias and it seemed to fit welll with the band sound.  The crowd was a bit thin but we played to some enthusiastic patrons.  Adrian asked me to bring in some originals so I'm starting to get them together.  Will try hard to make this happen while Binnie is out in Colorado. 
Friday I was with Sweetwater Junction in Norcross for a High School Reunion.  It was the class of 1970, and in retrospect we should have honored that time period a bit more.  It was a rainy night in Georgia so that made the night a bit dreary.  They fed us well with meat loaf, mac n cheese, and some fresh tossed salad with avacado.  We played well but it felt uninspired.  I sang Don't You Forget About Me and I thought it went well but it didn't go over well.

Saturday I joined up with Martay & the Partay at a Taste of Chamblee.  We played an hour-long set of rock, naturally.  We went on after a Dixieland band led by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/studio owner Rick Hinkle: Whole Lotta Dixie which was a lot of fun to check out.  It was a very warm and sticky day out there in Chamblee.  I do have a photo to show us up there with Bill on vocals.

I should mention that Eric was our audio engineer and he did a great job, as always.  What a hot day indeed!

Once we we done, I loaded up and made my way back to the Atlanta Athletic Club where I had set up earlier for a Platinum wedding reception.  We were here recently and it was a similiar arrangement.  I didn't need my big amp setup so the Genz Benz combo was enough to rumble this enclosed stage area.  I sang "In My Life" for the Mother/Son dance.  Everything went well - no fatal flaws.  I felt that the band was a little busy in some ways - hard to pinpoint what is going on with this band sometimes.  Derek McCoy performed on guitar with us did a great job.  He seemed to be a good fit and has some impressive technique - nailing the fierce intro to "Don't Stop Believin'" and a spirited fusion take on "Mr. Magic."  All in all, we had a great time and the wedding party really enjoyed themselves.  Oh yeah, I enjoyed listening to Glen Perdew's walk-on music of "Say a Little Prayer".  I need to learn that one!

Professional Airmen's Conference Party at the Hyatt Regency

Saturday the 14th Platinum played for approximately 800 Airmen and guests as a part of the Air Force Sargeants Association conference kickoff .  The theme was "Party Like A Rock Star" and that meant we were pulling out any and all rocking tunes that we do.  The band played really well, like a fine tuned machine.  For me, I did well with relatively few clams but I hit a huge bad ugly loud note at the beginning of "What I'd Say".  Things like that can ruin a whole set for me.  I realize now that I was wrongly associating that song with "Ain't No Sunshine" and that's why I hit the A instead of the E.  It will never happen again!  The rest of the night was smooth.  I played my Tobias fretless and my Precision and I really enjoyed how both fit into the mix.  The P-bass really has some balls and snot and it is a true rock bass.  I gotta admit it.  Don't turn your nose up to the Precision!

A memorable wedding reception at the Four Seasons + Java Monkey last Thursday

Played with Platinum last night at the Four Seasons in Midtown.  We were there just recently so it felt very familiar.  The room looked great and our stage was all white so it felt elegant and upscale.  We had a different guitar player, Brian Bartlett, who did a great job playing acoustic, electric, and especially talk-box guitar for "Livin' On a Prayer", which really made the song feel accurate.  Big surprise would have to be the bride requesting the groom's guilty pleasure favorite song: "Baby Got Back"!  And we played it - yep!  THis after the couple's parents and grandparents complained of our loud dinner set volume and had us break for the next 90 minutes.  Thus we started again at 10 and gave a crowd pleasing 2 hour set.  My NS WAV was in fine form.  Not sure if everybody digs it or what they think, but it breaks up the night a bit for me to play some pseudo upright stuff for the slower numbers.  My J bass was very bright considering the strings are getting a bit worn form this humidity we've been sufferring through lately.  All in all, a few clams but nothing too terrible - got to make sure I know "Build Me Up Buttercup" without stepping on myself, that's for sure.  Thursday I had the pleasure of another Adrian Ash Group gig at Java Monkey.  We played mainly Guy's and Jason's originals and it went well.  I play my J with the Genz Benz combo and everybody seemed to like that a lot.  I guess the 15 has it's place, perhaps more for rock than jazz.  Guy and Jason had some bad luck and got their cars towed during the gig.  Not cool.  I hope they recovered them without too much money going to the city of Decatur.

Uptown Express at Lake Burton's Waterfall Country Club

Last night was the last night in July 2010.  I wound my way up 985 towards Clayton, GA to perform with Dave MacDougal and Uptown Express for a country club celebration that followed a golf tournament held yesterday.  The band consisted of Dave on guitar and fronting the band with lead vocals.  Also on board was his usual call of Mike Little on keyboards and lead vocals and new recruit Chad Driskill on drums, who also sings but did not sing last night.  Thus we were a quartet and that was good since there was not much space for us to set up and perform.  The night was very laid back.  Walk in music was provided by a dude wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes.  They put out quite a sound and make a strong impression when heard in person.  They were turned to the key of A so everrything he played was in A.  Well done but almost too loud for the environment.  We started once Chad was set up.  This place was not wasy to get to, being at the top of a mountain yet offering the most serence view of nearby mountains and Lake Burton.  We had big fun playing oldies, Motown, Jimmy Buffett (Volcano), and a surprise rendition of "Double Shot of My Baby's Love" sung by your's truly.  Everybody was feeling the love by the end of the night and we celebrated with a few cocktails before making our way back towards the Atlanta area.  It was a very long drive home.  My Fender Jazz sounded nice and full and was the right instrument once again for this event.  Loving the SWR Golight 15 cabinet as well - so easy to lift.  Wish we had a pic.  I will make sure to provide that next time.  It was great to play with Dave once again after his departure from Platinum.  I miss his demeanor and his musical resources.