Adrian's Wedding

Sunday the 19th came along and it was time head out to the Mary Gay House in Decatur for Adrian & Heather's wedding.  As part of the band I showed up relatively early.  I saw Guy as I was pulling up.  I secured a nice spot on the street to park for an easy load in.  I met Rob Henson who played upright bass during the ceremony, which was next door in Adair Park.  The weather was beautiful and Rob did a terrific job bowing and making it look easy on his 5-string upright (with a high C - I want one of those!).  Inside we all played a first set of jazz that gave the growing crowd some nice background music.  It was nice to meet Rob and the rest of the musicians including Kinah Boto Ayah, Brett Warren.  The one weird part of the night was that for some reason, we played You Are The Sunshine of My Life during the last set, but it was supposed to be the last dance.  So, we had to play it again!  Kind of funny.  They had great barbecue and awesome Sweetwater IPA on tap, so it was a relaxing time!  Yes!  Overjoyed was a highlight.

And the next night

On Thursday the 16th we were back at Java Monkey for our 2nd night in a row of dress rehearsals for Adrian's wedding and reception.  We played Pachelbel's Canon, with my part being the vibraphone transcription, so there is not really any bass.  Hard to believe Johann Pachelbel lived so long ago - 1653-1706!  A very old tune indeed.  I've learned that the Canon in D Major - it's always played in D - has only become such a popular wedding song since the 1970's, so it's a relatively recent trend.  We played it twice, once at the beginning and then as our closing number.  In between we played many others from the playlist.  The weather was very nice compared with the usual 90's + humidity we've been dealing with out on that patio.  Friday the 17th I played with Martay & Brent at Padriacs in Vinings.  It was a relaxed night with a sparse attendence, but the crowd eventually did show.  Great to see Cliff & Christine.  Cliff told us the news that he and his wife are expecting their 2nd child.  Very good news.  Cliff has been working in the ER of Grady as a counselor.  Long days and tough work.  All in all, we did well, even on "Is There Something I Should Know", which we hadn't played before.  They all went to Waffle House afterwards, but it really was too late for me to tag along.  Sleep is always an opportunity cost.  A very good time all around.  Tonight I am without a gig but it is Yom Kippur.

Adrian Ash's Bachelor Party at Shorty's Pizza

Yes, the Adrian Ash Group performed at Shorty's Pizza in Tucker on L'ville Hwy in honor of Adrian's impending marital sentence.  We were given the night to play by local bass entertainer and vocalist Michael Hurwitz (I hope I have his name correct), who helped to fill in the night in a N'awlins kind of fashion.  We ended up playing our 1st set of dinner music and then later on Adrian sang a few numbers before turning it over to the rest of us.  It should go better tomorrow at Java Monkey and certainly problem free at the wedding and reception.  We enjoyed a good, cold 420, a slice of pie, and found out who was ready and who wasn't!  Nice Ampeg amp and cabinet that I played through.  Always good to see Guy and Jason, who had some nice comments on my part relating to my dismissal from WR.  Ah, that's life and I'm guilty as charged, in a way.  Got to move on and keep my head up.  Oh yeah, saw Doug Morton tonight, after some 13 years or so.  Great to see an old friend.  We reminisced about playing at Fuzzy's Place all those years ago, with the Blues Barons: Barron Ruth, Bill Diehl, Doug, myself, and Big Matt Kearney on the sax-o-horn!  Matt got me involved with those cats and I really can't remember why we didn't do more.  Doug said they couldn't afford Matt, so I guess we were considered a package deal.  It was a good night and hopefully a decent musical bachelor party for Adrian.

Big 2 Week Catch Up - 6 Gigs in 6 Days (End of August & Labor Day)

This was quite a busy time for me.  Everything fell into place I suppose.  Started last Tuesday the 31th, which was officially Van Morrison's birthday.  A cause for celebration and a great performance with Greg Hester.  When Greg plays with Doug McCombs, they bill themselves as the Tone Brothers.  We went out as the Tone Brothers with Uncle Gnarley.  Uncle Gnarley includes Reece Harris on the trap drums, the lovely Joanie Ferguson on percussion, Brian Molin on acoustic guitar, and me on upright bass.  For a few songs, we had Jonathan Ripley swing by with his alto sax.  Also on site was John Gillespie who was ready to play guitar as well, but there was no room for him up there.  We played a great list of Van's popular tunes and the crowd became quite substantial for a Tuesday night.  I thought the best tune of the night was "Steal My Heart Away".  Nice version.  All right, Wednesday Sept. 1st I rode out to Reynolds Plantation with JT, Mark, & Mike who make up Hologram.  We played for the Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia (OAAG) by the lake and the gravity pool.  It was hot during the setip and with a beached large-mouth bass nearby, it was a bit smelly too.  We were setup and ready in 90 minutes.  Went to check in and slug down a Corona that JT had thought to bring.  I had learned on my trip out there that I have been given my pink slip from Wild Rice.  It's never easy to deal with these kinds of things but it may serve as an eye opener in terms of keeping my communications at the forefront.  I can see that Daniel perhaps wanted more time from me than I was willing to give.  I will miss the Rice and wish them luck.  It's beena good long run and I am on the debut CD so it's nice to have that to look back on.  Getting back to the gig in Oconee, the crowd largely ignored us and before we knew it we were done for the night.  We ended up closing down the bar upstairs with Mike and JT leading a sing-along until 3 am or so.  I was not feeling too well and the next day was a sufferring one.  The next day being Thursday and I played my biweekly gig with Adrian Ash at Java Monkey.  We had big fun playing some of Adrian's wedding reception charts.  Nothing much to report.  I limited myself to 1 beer and it tasted good but that's all I craved...  Friday night I played with MartaY & Brent at Ri Ra in Midtown.  First I swung by Randy Chapman's birthday jam at Northside Tavern.  Great to see Rich, McKnight, Dan, Lee, Bill, Jon, the usual suspects.  Also saw Ron Roper, who I hadn't seen in forever and a day.  Great to catch up a bit.  Everyone looked great.  Then over to Ri Ra, and we played very well.  This band is a great little 3-piece rock unit that can do a lot of variety.  Wish we could take it to the next level.  A lot of fun indeed.  Saturday I played with Platinum at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead - a wedding reception to be certain.  No major train wrecks and I enjoyed the night.  Our first with new guitarist Derek McCoy as full time guitarist.  Good playing and singing all around.  Glen gave me compliments on the NS WAV and I appreciate that.  His voice is always a strong asset to the band, even when he's a little hoarse.  He sounded particularly great on "Easy" - I gotta nail that Ab pentatonic riff after the 1st chorus - he did!  And "Last Dance" is too much for me to ever memorize, but I could try harder.  Ok, then Sunday I met up with Brian, Walt, Mark, and Matt in Sweetwater Junction for another trip to Ashville.  Another wedding - this time we had to play the Horas.  We were joined by our booking agent who played electric violin with us.  We made it through and the couple and parents really loved us!  Yay!  It was a beautiful place and the first dance of "They Love Each Other" set the tone for a Grateful Dead themed night.  This was the gig I had to give up my "Running With Desire" at Piedmont Park - they had a great time so I hear.  So that was 6 gigs in 6 nights - don't think I've ever done that before.  Played again on Wednesday the 8th with MartaY & Brent at Brighton Gardens in Vinings.  Good party with many of the usual faces present.  They are undergoing new management so we'll see if they still hire the full band.  Thursday I played with Sweetwater Junction once again, this time down in Palmetto at Serenbe Farms.  We had Eric Frampton on keys and Justin Brogdon on guitar and vocals.  I ended up singing a few - Miss You, Brown Sugar, Shakedown Street, Domino, Ain't Too Proud To Beg.  It felt good.  Funky sax player opened up the evening with streaming new-jazz and his wireless harmonized alto noodlings omni-present.  A little surreal when we don't play a 1st dance or have any toasts.  Still, they had good food - salmon, fried chicken, good margaritas.  I enjoyed myself but man, it was seriously hard to get to this place with the few details I had been given.  Friday I played my 2nd gig with Hologram at the Hilton in Norcross on Peachtree Industrial Blvd.  It was a birthday party and we were in the Peachtree Corners ballroom, which is tucked away in the back of the hotel.  We had a nice low stage volume due to Mike not having his amp and that was good.  There was a party coordinator who was clearly interested in us.  I hope to do some more with them some time in the future.  It was a great way to wrap up this 2 week flurry of gigs.  I'm a little wiped out, but next week will have some more in store.