This was our early gig this past Saturday. After working Friday night at The Ranch I hit the road at 8:30 AM in order to give myself plenty of time to make the call time in El Cajon, about 120 miles away from my house. We had an 11:30 AM call time but I always plan on being an hour early when it's that far away, just in case.
I started my trek on good old Route 66 near my home.
For those of you who travel up and down the 15 freeway, I'm sure you've seen this bridge.
It sprinkled on me a couple of times after I passed the San Diego county line. I was a little concerned about the weather. It was supposed to clear.
I arrived at the venue, a civic center type park, right in the middle of the court house, the police station, and the city hall. The load-in and parking was super easy. Very well done!
When I arrived there was a jug band on stage doing their sound check. They guy blowing on the jug really got resonance. He really held down the bottom end. I was impressed. He also played an F tuba on a few tunes.
They were really good! They played a lot of standard rags and jug band music from the '20s and '30. Unfortunately, that cover you see is for the "dance floor" and not the stage. More about that later.
Since I was an hour early I wandered around and took a few pictures of the activities. You see the big flag draped over the city hall.
This is a view down one of the downtown streets with other activities and vendors.
I found my sign.
The police department was represented.
As was the fire department.
I don't know who won the chili cook-off between the police and fire departments. I should have tasted them.
I also noticed that we each had our own individual dressing rooms.
After the jug band played their set we got our gear on stage.
This is Bill Noble, our sound man today. He's also a bass player so you know he knew his stuff.
Bill's stuff sounded great and he was instantly able to give us just what we wanted in our monitors. Our quick sound check was no hassle at all. This guy knew his equipment and how to use it.
This Yamaha O1V did the job.
Bill had EV mains and monitors. They really sounded great.
As you can see in my face, the clouds have cleared. I didn't bring any sunscreen.
Mario is ready for business.
Kelly got the audience snapping their fingers and I sang an old favorite, "King Of The Road".
It turned out to be a really nice day.
Kelly said I look good in this color. I wasn't planning on gigging this shirt but what the heck. At least it's not black or brown.
Jeff was smart. He brought a hat and sunglasses.
Even Daniel remembered to bring his hat.
Art always wears a hat. I think you may know why.
A few more random pictures of the band having fun. Here's Jeff.
I had given my camera to Brian, one of the stage crew, and he took a ton of great pictures. My batteries were dead but I had an extra pair with me. It's a good thing I had more gig pictures to take.
Kelly is just as cute as she can be.
Mario lays it down.
The bass player is thinking "A, A, A, A, D, D, D, D, E, E, A, A".
What is Daniel smiling at?
Jeff is a great crooner.
We had a few dancers during both sets.
Art got to sing one of his oldies. We modified the set list a bit due to the prevailing demographics of the crowd. "King Of The Road" was not on the set list originally. And Art sang "Rockin' Robin".
Daniel ALWAYS brings the house down with "Devil Went Down To Georgia". He calls it his "old war horse".
We've never played Orange Blossom Special. We've never gotten a request but I'm pretty sure Daniel hates that tune anyway.
OK, here's a crowd shot from the stage.
This picture was taken by Dan Knowlton who stopped by to listen and say "Hi". It was a pleasure meeting you, sir. Dan's a great guy and we had a nice chat. Let's do it again some time.
You might notice that white tent on the far side of the stage (stage right). That was our rest area. There was a cooler with water and sandwich wraps. We were treated well. Everybody was asking for business cards and was hoping we'd come back when they needed us. Everyone was so nice.
We cleared the stage after our two sets so then next band could set up. The drum kit belonged to this band. Everyone else had to bring their own amps. But I didn't mind. This gig was a walk in the park.
Then I had a nice drive back up the coast this time. Here I'm passing the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
This is what helps me get through those long days and nights. I kind of like my caffeine.
After The Ranch gig that night we played at the Brea Bonanza Days Country Music Festival on Sunday evening. My next blog entry will cover that gig. It was a blast! Until then.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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