The Walt Austin Duo: Nada Duckets at Horseshoe Bend Country Club

Mark contacted me about a possible trio gig for Thursday the 19th.  I was able to make it work on my end, but regrettable, he wasn't.  The gig at that point morphed into a duo with Walt Austin.  I should have brought my upright, but I was wondering about the format.  I thought we were supposed to be more contemporary.  Oh, well.  It would have been nice to have had the doghouse.  I used my fretless, so I had a bit of that vibe at least.  We ended up playing a bunch of standards and such.  Folks seemed to like us enough, but we were background music to the max.  It was very cut and dry.  No food or drinks and our breaks were in a room up the hall.  Can't remember the last time I've played a duo gig.  It's been many years.  Walt really sounds great and holds his own on jazz piano.  Very melodic with some Herbie Hancock "across the barlines" playing.  He made it an easy and enjoyable night in Roswell.

I didn't take any pics until the last set, which found us with a thinned out crowd.  The place was booming with a happy hour vibe earlier.  Had them dancing into the night.

City Church Eastside at Stoveworks

Played an enjoyable church service in downtown ATL.  The bandleader is Jack Jirak, a young attorney who plays guitar and sings.  He trades off 1 Sunday per month and brings in his own band to perform.  Charley referred me for the gig.  Also in the band is drummer extraordinaire Emrah Kotan.  I played with Emrah years ago in Roswell with Ryan Strickland, among others.  We've kept in touch, but it's been many years since we've done anything musically together.  I'd like to think I've learned a few things since I've seen Emrah, but he's very advanced.  Anyways, we had a nice service.  Normally, there are others in the band - a lead guitarist, a keyboardist, and at least one backup singer.  This week we were a power trio, without the power I guess.  Rehearsal began at the wee time of 7:30 am.  It seemed a bit early to me, but I didn't know what to expect.  The songs were great, modern tunes.  I like the standard arrangement Jack opted for.  Typically, there are 4 verses.  The quiet verse is almost always the 3rd verse.  It gives the song a bit of an ebb and flow.

Jack Jirak

Emrah Ktan

Blog Boy

Country Club of the South: Hot Night in the Clubhouse

Derek McCoy on guitar, with Dianna Crawford on vocals watching the magic unfold

A hot night it was.  The air conditioning wasn't working very well, and I was not on the list of those who were informed as to why it wasn't on.  This place didn't exactly give us the red carpet treatment.  Do they even know who we are?  Just kidding, but I guess to have a decent meal with a vegetable included and a room to eat it in is sometimes too much to ask.  I hope the parents of the bride didn't have to pay for what we were served.

It was good to have guitarist Derek McCoy back with us for this event.  He sounded great as always.  Nice tone and the right notes grooving, what more can you ask for?

Songs we had to play:  Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You (first dance);  My Girl (father/daughter dance);  What A Wonderful World (mother/son dance).  All of those had to be shortened to make them just long enough.  People love that Frankie Valli tune and it certainly evokes some memories.  I really like the chords in it, particularly the opening sequence:

F#7/E
Am6/E (or it could be thought of as F#m7(b5), the A# moves down to A & the C# drops to C)
E

Hard for a guy to sing it because Frankie can get up there and weird for a girl to sing it because it is such a "guy" song.  Oh well, one day it will all makes sense.

Another one we revived was the Zac Brown tune Whatever It Is.  We've done it a few times now but it is one of those that uses the same chords as many other tunes and switches them up within the form of the tune.  Easy to mix it up.  They do some timing things just to be cute.  I always think it's best to adhere to the recorded form.  Note to self: don't try to perform air-violin to explain to musicians that there's a fiddle solo going on - it doesn't look good!  Meanwhile, why was I the only one who knew there was a fiddle solo - doesn't anybody listen to the song?

Johnny relented and ended up getting through Hot In Herre.  I wasn't clear on what his objection was, but maybe he didn't realize that we only play about 90 seconds of the song.  It was an interesting email thread that Benjamin was included on.

I played fretless and my jazz bass.  Had my Genz-Benz combo on top of the SWR Golight 15 cabinet.   This amp just doesn't cut it for this particular gig.  I really miss my GK head.  Hope it gets fixed soon.  The air conditioning situation and the horrible green room area along with the shoddy meal and my lack of amp headroom made for a lackluster night.  Sometimes it's hard to rise above the muck to bring the magic.

Friday the 13th: Billy Batts Does It Again

Not much to report here.  I almost brought out the upright again, but went with the fretless.  Mark had another show to do, so he had a sub.  I thought it would have been Jason, who I sat with at Jazz Fest watching Bill Frisell.  Turned out to be Steven Walker, another GSU grad.  We played a bunch of standards, along with Unchain My Heart and a couple of other vocal tunes.  Nothing re-Mark-able!  Steven is a great player.  He recognized me, but we couldn't figure it out.  Then he remembered - he was in Albuquerque on the same event, playing percussion with DJ Jeff Burninsky and House Live (basically pre-recorded jazzy vamps as triggered by a DJ along with a live sax player and percussionists).  He saw me with Platinum, as we played after they did at the "casino party" out there.  Good memory there Steve-O!  We had guest vocals on our last song, as we went from Tutu into I Shot the Sheriff.  People who I thought weren't digging it gave us a standing ovation - well, maybe they were already standing up and getting ready to leave anyways.  It was better than it was supposed to be, I can vouch for that

Steven Walker on the drums

The Ideal Wedding on the Outer Banks: Platinum Takes a Road Trip to Nags Head

I had never been there, at least not as an adult. This place is beautiful and historic, but it's not easy to get to.  Glen had a Friday night gig that he had to take, so he bought a plane ticket and flew there.  Even by plane, it's a connecting flight and then an hour-long drive from the airport to the beach locale.  What a long strip of island it is.  It makes you want to give it all up and open up a little shop or restaurant to live there.  With the summer getting a slow start, the June water temps were chilly.  Hey, it's further north and that Atlantic Ocean takes a while to warm up.

Rambling back in time, we traveled up there Friday, leaving from V's and driving in a rented mini-van and V's deluxe SUV, which I drove for the most part.  I didn't realize I was going to be driving so much, but at least it was a very nice ride.  Phil, our sub on keyboards, rode with me.  He spent the trip listening and transcribing some chords for the setlist we were about to play.  I marveled at his well-trained ear.  We were separated from V, Di, & Gus when they picked Gus up at the Suwanee exit.  He parked at the same place where we had left our cars when RWD played up in Greer, SC.

So eventually around lunchtime or later, I decided to check out the infamous Gaffney Peach.  I just read about it here, where I learned that it is called the Peachoid and that it is a water tower, built in 1981.  Gotta laugh when I read that folks refer to it as "The Moon Over Gaffney", as we all have a snicker over the exaggerated cleft.  It goes to show you there are no truly original jokes!  Couldn't resist the photo-op, as my boys got a kick out it when we passed it on our Easter in D.C. trip.  Had to have one of ol' Dad trying to hold it up.  Thanks to Phil for humoring me and getting the shot.

I call this picture "Three Nipples"

Getting there is half the fun, right?  So I when I finished with the picture taking, I called Gus and learned that they were just passing me.  They had eaten, but we met at the next exit for gas and V bought us a Subway sandwich lunch.  Back on the road, we drove into North Carolina and made it good and far before stopping again at a station that desperately needed some bleach spilled onto the unisex bathroom floor before we could use it.  We decided to press on and actually complete the trip before grabbing dinner.  Long story short(er), We finally traversed the major bridge to what is referred to Hatteras Island.  The big bridge is the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, completed in 1963 and explained here.  How long did it take to build?  I'm just amazed at bridges, particularly these massive ones.  Well, it was closed recently for some serious repair and renovation.  That would have been unfortunate to have to deal with.

We checked into the hotel, which was the Comfort Inn.  Not super awesome, but nice enough and it was on the beach.  That counts for a lot.  Too bad I wasn't here for the beach.  We then walked down the road a bit to a local seafood down-home restaurant that has been around for quite some time, Sam & Omies (since 1937).  I enjoyed tasty shrimp and scallops, with fresh veggies and a salad too.  Plus some killer local IPA.  We earned a good meal after that drive.  Not much happened after that.  I watched some boring tv in my room and eventually slept.  I had some school work hanging over my head but no laptop.  Thankfully there was a PC in the lobby area that I would make use of the next day.

After sleeping in, I ventured down to check out breakfast.  Ah, too late by 10 minutes.  It was locked shut, so I went outside to the beach access deck.  Saw Jason and we lamented at how nice the beach looked.  Hah!  I would try to make it on there for a walk, but it would have to be later.  I went to the lobby for some coffee, but they were out.  Opted for hot tea with 2 bags, please.  Decided to ride with Gus to check out the tent and set up my little rig.  My amp was in repair so I was using my old Genz-Benz ML-200 combo.  No extension cabinet as I was traveling light.  We were setting up on a nice big stage in a massive tent that boasted some serious air conditioning units and a clear ceiling.  Clear ceilings are nice and everything, but during the day before the AC is up and running, they are in effect giant sun roofs.  It was mighty warm.  We opened up some flaps behind us for some air flow.  The view of the water from the tent was sweet.  We helped Jason load in his stuff, as he had Gus' drums and he may bring my rig in the future.  They were a lot of folks there turning this tent into a enchanted wonderland.  Gus and I picked up lunch at the local DQ - chili dogs! - and took back something for Jason.  Then we returned to the hotel.  I made the most of the time by knocking out a pressing discussion question for school.  It took a minute, and by that I mean a good 20-30 minutes.  After that, it was time for soundcheck and rehearsal.  We didn't get a whole lot accomplished.  Found out that one of Jason's wireless mics was out of commission.  Glen and Phil sorted out the issue of having dual keyboard setups, along with Anton's keys as well.  Plus, we had Benjamin Forehand on guitar for the second time out.  It was a lot to go over and our time ran out quickly.  Back to the hotel once again.

After soundcheck, I finally got out on the beach.  Went for a nice stroll up to a very long pier that is a big attraction here.  Took some pics, collected some shells and a baggie of sand for Spencer, and had a big old time being all alone amongst the throngs of thongs.  Even spoke to a nice woman with a little dog who was from Virginia.  Ah, therapy for the soul.  I needed a little bit of time to do nothing at all and be on this beautiful stretch of beach after all of the travelling I went through.  I think back to driving to V's house, and that commute alone is longer than the trip to some of the gigs we play in town.

After my walk, I got my suit on and met the fellow Plats outside of the lobby area.  We rode over to the venue, which was that big tent on the grounds of Nags Head Golf Links.  Our green room was a tent behind the tent.  We dined on a decent salad and a well-seasoned chicken breast sandwich with lettuce and tomato.  Quaffed some sodas.  Always funny to see Pepsi products, as Atlanta is such a Coca-Cola themed city.  The Mountain Dews were grabbed first.  Later on, we tore into some really fine cupcakes.

The gig itself went very well.  The first set was a warm one, with the sun beginning to set and shining directly into my eyes the entire time.  It was just my vantage point.  We played perhaps the best neo-soul grooved rendition of Lonnie's Lament so far.  One of the dances was James Taylor's Carolina In My Mind.  Interesting how most everybody knows that song as the first song on his Greatest Hits album (you know, the white cover with the songs listed on the front).  That is a re-recording, as the song first appeared on his debut album from 1968, which was on Apple Records, the Beatles' label.  The point is, the song was in F, and every time he plays it, it's in F (except for a recording I have of him and Carole King doing it in D), but on the Greatest Hits version, its in E.  How odd!  So what key, then?  Glad we opted for F.  Another one of the big numbers for this gig was a specially requested Total Eclipse of the Heart, that Bonnie Tyler epic blowout.  We worked on it at soundcheck and it was perhaps the highlight of the night, with the crowd singing and acting out the dramatic epic.  It was powerful and lovely, I must say.  We opted for the single edit, omitting a few verses.  I made charts, so follow along if you care to.

Chord chart for Carolina In My Mind by James Taylor.
Of course, guitar plays in key of D, capoed at the 3rd fret.

Chord chart for Total Eclipse of the Heart, written by Jim Steinman and performed by Bonnie Tyler.

After the gig, we helped Jason load out.  A bottle of Scotch made an appearance.  I wrapped several cables, and then a few more.  Then we hit the town and found a great band.  We drove for a bit, but I didn't realize we had left Nags Head and were in the city of Kill Devil Hills.  The club was the Outer Banks Brewing Station and the band was Turkuaz, from New York.  Check them out here - so fun: horns, female singers, a twisted bass player, synths, dual guitars, funky drummer.  They even played a couple of tunes we played (Hold on, I'm Coming).  Their fog machines made for some hazy shots.  Speaking of shots, Jason made it a party!  Thank you Jason!  He danced and blew our minds with his free-spirited camaraderie!  Gus and I had been talking about gin and tonics, so we had to get a round of those.  Double limes - a summertime splurge!  We hit a Harris Teeter after that and got our late night munch on in the parking lot!  Felt like college again!

The day after was a long day of driving.  Can you say anti-climactic?  One highlight was breakfast, er brunch, with a roadside diner tucked away inside an old-fashioned filling station.  They had all things breakfasty, but I (along with Dianna) opted for crab-cakes.  Served with potatoes and coleslaw, they didn't stand a chance.  If they served real espresso drinks, they'd have a line out of door.  Subway for dinner.  Got back safe and sound, that's all you can ask for.

"Turn around, Bright Eyes..."