On a recent weekend me and Arnie Newman's Country Club played a pretty fabulous event at the Winchester Country Club near Auburn CA. (Hit that Winchester link and you'll see drone views of the clubhouse.) We all met up at ONT and flew to Sacramento on Friday morning. We knew it would be a long day but we were enjoying the adventure.
Arnie checked us all in for the Southwest "cattle call" boarding process. We were all in sequential order so we could try to find seats together. We did pretty well. John, Arnie, Jason, Amanda, and Austin are in front of me. Randy is behind me as we enter the plane.
Look out Sacramento! Here comes trouble!
I can't tell if this is the Sacramento River or the American River. It might be both. They both converge just south of Sacramento International Airport as we make our final approach.
Hey, do we look like a band walking through the airport?
We took a shuttle to the Holiday Inn in Auburn. It's about 15 minutes from the venue.
Here is our home for the night. I was glad to see IN-n-OUT was right next door. We were hungry.
This was a nice Holiday Inn and the front desk was very helpful and friendly.
This is Rachel and Camille. I told them I would feature them in my gig blog because they took such good care of us. Hello ladies! They were kind enough to take a selfie with the old bass player.
John and I were roomies on this trip. We decided to save on hotel costs so we could put more money in our pockets.
OK, tossed my bag in the room and then proceeded to lunch. My double-double and chocolate shake were perfect.
We rested for a couple hours, freshened up, then called another shuttle to take us to the venue.
The Winchester Country Club is located in a little town called Meadow Vista, just north of Auburn. This is one of the smaller homes in the area, which is very scenic.
We pull up to the clubhouse and send Randy in to get the lay of the land. Turns out we are right behind the clubhouse on the driving range. Did you see it on the drone shots when you clicked the Winchester link above?
We pull around back to unload and find the stage and sound system already set up. Brent from MxxMaster has been working hard already today.
Here's the clubhouse as viewed from the stage. Nice digs around here.
We start schlepping our gear onto the stage. Brent had hauled our backline with the sound system in the company van. You see the van above parked on the back patio of the clubhouse. It was a long carry plus stairs. We got our workout today.
Arnie and Brent begin the setup dance. I'll cut in later.
Everything is progressing nicely. It's a good sized stage but John has to be in the drum row to give us enough room up front.
I take a little breather and enjoy a Crooked Lane, on tap at the bar in the clubhouse. It was a good local beer.
The lovely Ms. Amanda Kate arrives just in time to check her microphone. She like to Uber around because her company pays for it. (I hope I didn't get her in trouble just now.)
It's a little warm while we soundcheck. Amanda finds some shade in front of the drum kit. The sun was setting directly behind us.
It view is very picturesque from the stage. So I took a picture.
While Brent was running cables and mixing monitors I moved the van out to the parking lot. This is the view of the stage as I walked back.
Here's the stage, all set up and soundchecked. The sun was brutal. I'm so glad we were not facing the sun. We actually ended up starting a little late just to let the sun set and be more comfortable for the guests.
This is from the upper balcony of the clubhouse. I could not get enough of the view around here.
Under those tents was all kinds of fancy foods and drinks. Here's your bass player enjoying the vista and looking forward to a good evening.
The band is invited to partake of the delicacies. You don't have to ask twice.
Here's a sample of what was offered; Kabob, Paella, and a sushi dish that was like sashimi on a bed of lettuce with a tasty sauce. There was no beans and BBQ here.
Meet Lila. She took great care of the band and made sure we were well hydrated.
After some food and drink the guests were treated to a trick shot demonstration by Tania Tare, our celebrity pro golfer. You should check out some of her Youtube videos. This young lady is quite the artiste when it comes to golf balls.
I asked Tania if I could proudly feature her in my gig blog. She was more than happy to oblige. I don't know why I made here stare into the sun for a selfie. Sorry Tania!
Amanda and I found some shade for our selfie. She likes cheesin' with this old bass player.
We took band pictures just before we started our show. Version one.
Version two, with the sound man, Brent, and the golf pro, Tania.
Version three is my favorite.
This one's pretty funny. John and Randy wore the same shirt. I guess it's good they were on opposite sides of the stage, like bookends.
It looks like we've taken the stage and we're waiting for our queue.
Here's a backlit John, just before we start.
Here's Jason with a beautiful view behind him.
Austin joins him looking very thoughtful, or tipsy. I can't tell.
The band is ready! We're chomping at the bit.
The lovely Amanda Kate joins us and we start the show! We play one long two hour set.
You gotta love those red boots!
As the sun set the dancers came out to have their fun.
John tears into his boogie-woogie number as the last bit of twilight fades away.
Amanda is having a ton of fun. I can tell.
One more guitar intro so I can take another picture of Amanda. I think she's singing "My Church".
We played a lot of pop and rock tonight, "Funky Music", "Uptown Funk", along with some Lady A and Johnny Cash. The crowd loved it all.
When we were done we headed back to the locker room to change into our roadie clothes and begin the real work.
Most everybody pitched in to help relocate the gear back into the van. Then the stage crew dismantled our platform.
Once we got back to the hotel we had quite an afterparty. I must tell Arnie to never let me drink that much beer and eat that much pizza in one sitting ever again.
This fellow is Michael Paul (stage name), a dear old friend of Arnie's. Michael is a very accomplished multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His stuff is really, really terrific. Michael gave us a ride back to the hotel and we were listening to his CD on the way. It's like Randy Newman meets Steely Dan meets Oscar Peterson, really great stuff.
After the party we got a few hours sleep and then headed to the breakfast buffet before heading back to the airport. This fellow makes a mean omelette.
Breakfast was hearty, a kitchen sink omelette, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy. Road food!
John seems more interested in his phone than breakfast.
We took an expensive taxi ride back to the airport. I'm sure next time Arnie is just going to rent a Suburban. It would be cheaper than the shuttle/taxi costs.
Whew, I literally walked into the line just as my group was boarding. We cut it pretty close.
Here we are somewhere over Northern California flying back to ONT. We're tired but happy.
I think I'm off all this week until Saturday when we play a birthday party for a friend. I need a nap.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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