Here is a recap of late last week.
Thursday the AAG played 2 great sets of jazziness and original wonderment. It was a nice evening to be outdoors and the patio was full of willing participants to our deconstructed standards. We played some of Guy's & Jason's tunes along with Mercy Mercy Mercy, Josie, & Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), which we do a lot when we can't think of anything else to play. I thought we might try a Marley tune, but we don't really know any (?). We played some Bob at Adrian's wedding, but it was a different line up I suppose. I am always quite nervous before taking my first solo of the night. To have to follow Jason is quite a feat and I usually have some serious doubts about my abilities to play melodically and flashy enough to warrent any applause. It was nice that I did get some clapping after a few of my solos and I actually feel that I played some interesting stuff. Where I (or we) completely fell apart was on Rhythm-a-ning, a Monk tune. I have never completely come to terms with rhythm changes, and it showed here tonight. Ugh. We had some crazy time issue and the form went into hiding for most of Jason's solo, but somehow we found our way back into it. Well, the bass is the foundation, so I made it a point to get with it a bit more, but I need to check out some transcriptions for this ubiquitous form. My Jazz bass definitely will not fix itself and I can't bring it out until I put those original pickups back in. It's funny how we always seem to have a mighty crowd by the end of the evening and they want more, but it's simply too late. We have an 11:00 curfew, which has been challenged before without success.
Guy & Jason flaunting their chops.
Adrian helps me find 1 again.
Yet another goofy pic of me, but it is in mid song and I'm playing with 1 hand, so I get a few points there.
A guitarist/friend who stayed for the whole show.
Break.
Garrett takes care of us with food, drink, & constructive comments as well. We value what he brings to the small round tables! There's a story behind this shirt and it's a classic dramedy - sad and funny at the same time.
All packed up after having to perpendicular park to load out. It's an evil smile, ultimately signifying that I have 30 minutes or so of drive time ahead of me around 285 & then the Johnson Ferry construction.
Friday was the debut of a new "super group" Sunset Strip, headed up by James Terry, vocalist and musical visionary with a flair for fronting bands and producing top notch stage shows on a semi-modest budget. He drives a truck with a trailer full of PA & lighting gear to take care of many applications. Also making up this band is the drummer from Hologram Mark Hoialmen, plus 2 guys from Reality Check: Bobby Slaton on lead guitar & vocals and Jason Calhoun on rhythm guitar, guitar synth, & vocals. We had 1 rehearsal before this public appearance and we actually got quite a lot accomplished that night. The repertoire is very similiar to Hologram's, although there are certain tunes that the other guys did not know, or want to learn for that matter. Still, the songs they did know sounded so much better - no offence to the old player. These guys really know how to tweak their tones and they run directly into the PA via their Line 6 Pods and whatnot. It was big and powerful, I have to say. I also have to say that it makes for a supremely long setup and soundcheck. Some highlights were Home Sweet Home, Any Way You Want It, & Pour Some Sugar On Me. For some reason, the endings were really a bit precarious. We don't have any rapport as far as facial signs or language to facilitate ending the songs with any cohesion. It usually is the drummer's job to say "Hey - this is the end!!!" and bring us to a rousing finish. That really didn't happen a whole lot. Oh well. The bar staff really seemed to enjoy us. I found it to be an easy gig all in all. The worst part was the load in, which was not thought out when this place was constructed or designed. I ended up doing my loading up the hill to the turn lane.
View of the patio and the rear of the stage from where we loaded in.
If you were wondering what the Blue Moon neon sign at the top was all about, here's what it's referring to. A special attraction for the crowd was the presence of the Blue Moon girls who helped to stage some kind of contest. The winner was annonced druing our set by one of the girls. Such is life at the neighborhood watering hole.
Saturday night I was back with Platinum for our annual trek to Carrolton and specifically's Alice Richards' estate and tent near Southwire. I have recently learned that she had passed away approximately 3 years ago and that her husband had founded the Southwire Company. Well, this was another black-tie benefit party for Tanner Medical, this time with a 1920's theme. David Winterhalter brought his clarinet and played beautifully over some '20's standards that he helped us organize. I brought out my upright, and you know what - not a single person in the band commented on it. I had never brought it before, so I was a little surprised to not get any little quip about it. Weird. It sounded good but it did want to feed back and I didn't have my special eq/di pedal. Rats. Next time. My 6-string was my bass for the rest of the night - no problem. Thanks to Gus for bringing my custom NL2 to 1/4" speaker cable that I had left at the Temple gig. Subbing for Glen was Mike Little, with whom I played up at Lake Burton last year for one of Gwen's gigs. We had a lot of fun on that one but this was a tough one for Mike, I get the feeling. Platinum expects perfection and rightly so. It's hard to walk into it and know everything cold, but ultimately that's what needs to happen. We all got lost somehow on I Hear a Symphony and I still don't really know what happened. I think one of us didn't modulate when we were supposed to and it threw Virginia off - can't blame her for that. Everything sounded thin to me. It's been a while since Glen hadn't been on a gig and we just missed him - he was with Platinum Soul, the smaller band that night. One tune that went very well was a new one for us - It Takes Two (Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock). Gus sampled the intro and just let it play. Funny what he did! He's always got a moment where he acts the fool! We sounded good on it and Kevin got the rap down so he made it work!
This last shot here was taken after everybody had left - including most of the band. As usual, the last few remeaining were Gus, DJ, & myself.
We all donned some new costume hats & ties that gave us a gangster (not gansta) look. I thought it was nice and Virginia might get some nicer ones down the road. I like the way she's always trying to make it more special. We ate well and at Kevin's request, they even brought us ice cream! Can't complain about the treatment - even using the portapotties.
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