September is going to be a busy month for me. Thanks for letting me share my gig fun here. This past Sunday evening me and the ANB (Arnie Newman's Country Club) played a fun little event at a local Orange County winery, Cowboy Canyon Winery, for one of their Cowboy Cookout events. The event was sold out and everyone had a great time.
I had a pleasant commute with a lot of it being off the freeway. After cruising across the 10 to the 57 then taking the 91 over to the 55 and exiting at Chapman, I didn't want to take the toll road so I took a nice drive down Santiago Canyon Road. The hills of East Orange County are rather scenic.
Here's the entrance to the gig. Nice digs. The owners, Mike and Donna, Chad and Linda, are terrific people.
I cruised around the property for a couple of minutes before I found the barn in which we were playing. Of course I walked in the wrong door. But I figured it out pretty quickly.
I pulled down to the other end of the barn and began my part in the setup dance.
This was the view outside the window to my right. You'd never know you were just a few miles from the bustling suburbia that is Orange County.
This is the barn/venue where this shindig was held. It is a lovely horse property.
There are a few homes nestled in this canyon along with the horses and vineyards.
The talent arrives! The lovely Ms. Amanda Kate is a ROCKSTAR junkie just like the bass player.
She is such a cutie. Here's our regular cheesin' selfie. John sets up the PA. We're doing our own sound today.
Jason lets us know that somebody left the barn door open.
A few of the early arrivals started dancing to our sound check. I knew we were in for a fun night.
As the sun sets over the hills we prepare for the festivities. Arnie and Amanda look like they are ready to entertain.
And off we go! It sounded like we were playing in a barn so we really kept a lid on the volume. You can see Arnie's pedalboard case in front of the kick drum.
It was a sold out event, every table and chair was taken. It was a terrific family and friends atmosphere.
Here's a shot of our "stage" area as our dance instructor begins a lesson. We had a very lively and fun crowd at this event. The hosts really know how to throw a party.
While on break we enjoyed some local brew and appetizers.
Then we were back at it, getting the crowd up and dancing to work up their appetite.
On the next break it was supper time. The BBQ was excellent.
I enjoyed another American Lager along with my chicken, veggies, and salad.
Johnny Magic Fingers was also the soundman for this gig. Here's his tablet on top of the digital mixer. I put the XAir app on my phone and tablet too. We have plans, on the larger gigs, to let everyone mix their own monitors especially after we all go IEM. That's the plan anyway.
OK guys, what song are we doing now? Can I buy a vowel?
At one point in the evening, when we played a line dance that Amanda doesn't sing, she got out and danced with the crowd.
The instructor taught another quick lesson that the crowd enjoyed.
The music ended at 10:30 and the die-hard party people kept dancing to the DJ music as we began striking the stage. They did not want the fun to stop.
I got to take home a nice bottle of wine, a gift from our hosts. They really do make some great wine here.
The drive home was dark and lonely, the first part anyway. You'd never know that just over those hills are millions of people. But you can see the glow of the city lights.
And that was my fun little gig. Wednesday we have Downtown Disney and then we're driving to Vegas for a weekend at Gilley's. I'm hoping the tires on my trusty Astro van will make one more trip. Thanks for looking!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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