Recent Pics of Platinum From the Lens of Kevin Harry

Drawn from Kevin's facebook pages, here are some of his recent shots.  He really distills the moment into a great shot like nobody else - well, there's Chuck Dye - he's the best I shutterbug I know, and he knows the equipment and goes the extra mile for the shot.  Check out his web site here.  Kevin is casual and seemingly a hobbyist, typically utilizing his iPhone.  Something happens in between the man and the device.  Check it out.

Splendid Reception Atop Splendor Mountain

Made the trek to Splendor Mountain along with the other Platinum performers.  This site is located in Tiger, Georgia, very near Clayton in Rabun County.  It's virtually a straight shot from 285 - 85 N to 985 N, only a  critical turn at the very end and you're on the winding mountain and gravel side roads.  I successfully got myself stuck trying to navigate one of those gravel driveways.  Four wheel drive would be nice for times like these!  Glen saw me at my worst!  Great timing.  Well, got there safe.  Almost became part of a 4+ car wreck on 85 as a left lane had suddenly closed and none of us were prepared for it.  The car in front of me laid a pair of 50-foot long skid marks as black as my car in an attempt to not hit the cars in the lane next to him.  I was able to get over and then over again and just thanked God for allowing me to continue unscathed.

The air was cool and crisp, and we were in a tent with no flap behind the stage.  As night fell upon us, it became chilly.  I kept my blazer on the whole night!  The band has come to poke fun at my bass stand and assorted instruments.  I tell them that I need a gimmick in lieu of breathtaking chops.  I've really been enjoying the tone on the NS.  This is a magical bass instrument.  Being the bottom of the chain for NS, I can only imagine how great the top of the line instruments are.  Mine lacks the magnetic pickups, but that transducer in the bridge gives a distinctively upright growl, even with the often maligned stock strings.  Need to replace those at some point.

Had a lot of time to hang, since Derek and Glen ended up rehearsing with the violinist and singers for the ceremony music.  They had some tricky tunes to maneuver through, but they did a fine job.  Live ceremony music is a something that Virginia is working on featuring more from the band.  Later on, Derek and I discussed the similarities between the pop hits we are doing.  His guitar intro on Raise Your Glass can easily be confused with the synth intro on Tik-Tok.  Hard to keep it in your head when the moment comes and it's time to start the song under pressure.

Ceremony rehearsal with DJ in the low country brush.

Self portrait in green room cabin bath.

Kevin sitting where he sat earlier, behind the stage, most likely
applying an iPhoto treatment to his latest shot of Diana.

Glen's keyboard display

The tent pole was a dancer''s favorite prop!

Drinking hooch from the groom's shoe!

A Rocking BBE at CCC Had 'em Dancing: Channeling The Fab Four in Vocals, Instruments, and Song Selection

This quartet meets up and all of the time elapsed just vanishes.  Walter "Middleshelf" Austin on piano and other ethereal tones (I strictly informed he doesn't receive double-scale payment for so much musicality), Brian "Big TIme" Molin on alto and tenor guitars (depending on where he is on the neck), Mark "Chuckie" Letalien on percussives and allsorts, and myself on the fretless 5-string make up this band we like to call Billy Batts Ensemble.  We had 'em dancing at the end of the evening, obliging with an extended set of blues, swing, and my vocal turn at Van the Man's Domino.  In fact, all four of us had a turn at the mic for at least a song: Walt sang the most, as we defer to him generally: Unchain My Heart has become a signature tune of ours.  Sounded fine on Statesboro BLues as well.  Brian supplied Got My Mojo Working.  Mark brought the house down with a sincere turn at With a Little Help From My Friends.  Really nice.  I will make certain I'm ready for those backups next time.  I think Walt had Paul's part down, so I just have to summon Sir John's harmony.  The harmonies in that one take on the role of leads, as it's a call and response in reverse - a response and call.  And the bridge comes along twice.  We also played through Dolphin Dance and Stella By Starlight, 2 of my all time favorites.  The former is harder to solo on than just about any other song I can think of.  What's up with that?  All in all, a great and blustery night that started with nobody wanting to sit outside, 1 4-top venturing outside and then scampering away form us, and then the glorious finish with our most ardent fans ever, demanding more and more!  C'est la vie - it goes to show you never can tell, right Chuck?

Platinum at Lake Lanier's Pine Isle Pointe

Pine Isle Point boasts some serious lakefront vistas!  Up here in Lanier country, water is the main attraction.  Houseboat financing available!  It was hard to find, as I blindly surged forth taking in the tunes I had to ingest for the evening: Me and You;  My Wish;  Free (Zac Brown Band);  Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel);  Lovesong (Adele's version).  Too bad I had typed in 700 Holiday Road in Buford instead of 7000 Holiday Road...  There are 2 Holiday Roads in Buford - ha!  I got there late but nobody was that upset.  Here is the link, just so we can get it out of the way!  http://www.lakelanierislands.com/weddings/receptions

Great facility and great sound from David Junius, aka The Man!  Funny how to my ears, my rig can be very loud, then on the next song it isn't keeping up, then it's too loud again later on.  I feel like I'm always fiddling with it.  I used to NS WAV with the ol' strap attachment; NS Designs now labels it as the Frame Strap System here.  I'm getting more used to the orientation of this long-necked bass when worn.  It's an odd sense of mobility when I use my wireless as well.  We opened with some jazz, as is customary.  This time out it was All the Things You Are.  Nice changes, but such an old timey tune that most likely goes over everybody's heads.  Some enough, it was onto the standard fare.  We always leave out some of the more interesting tunes.  After all of this time, it was good to see Norah Jones' Don't Know Why on the list; too bad we broke before hitting it.  I just love those whole note goose eggs of roots on the 42'' scale.  The bottom end on this EUB really shakes our lower intestines unlike any other bass I have.  Played acoustic guitar on I'll Be.  Freshly changed strings gave it a nice tone.  I think I will eventually go with 13's instead of 12's.  Too bad I have another pack of 12's.  I need a more robust tone on that black Fender.

Had Myra Johnson on loan from Atlanta Soul Band as well as Twisted Hip.  She did a wonderful job filling in for Dianna.  Funny how singers know songs in a different way than we are used to doing.  When things get changed up, just follow the singer, even if it means cutting the song in half.  Act like nothing happened!  Easy gig all around.  We gave 'em what they wanted, even an encore.  Hey, we gave an encore last Friday as well.  Don't let that get around too much!  Don't want to spread the word that we want to stay late and play more than we need to...

Absynthe Makes The Art Garfunkel Makes The Market on a Perfect Fall Evening in Buckhead

Such a whirlwind evening.  Working later than I had expected, driving to Buckhead in Friday traffic, unloading the powered mixer, speakers, cables, bass rig, basses onto the patio at the W Hotel on Peachtree.  This is where Market is, soon it will be Cook Hall, a strange name for a new hang of sorts.  We were outside, and it was certainly a beautiful night to be outside.  Too bad it felt like a well kept secret.  We really did not have much of a crowd.  We compensated our server by generously tipping our gracious server Linzi Thompson.  She was not exactly over-worked.  Sad.  The music was okay.  I forgot a stand light, so I couldn't read any charts!  Not good.  I knew some of the older stuff better than I realized, but it wasn't too professional.  I just haven't been able to sit down and work on any of it.  Work has taken over this week.  I was running on empty, but adrenaline didn't fail me until it was time to pack it all up.  Still, a great night.  The guys bring a lot to the table here and the music is special.  Paul wouldn't have been proud.  Thanks to Adrian with a little help from his friends for these colorful pics.  Without those LED footlights, it would have been an intensely dark experience!

Linzi Thompson, working the patio at Market