This past Saturday me and the ANB played at one of our semi-regular rooms, Buckle and Boots in Lancaster.
On a good day it's a ninety minute drive for me. Today there was traffic and road construction that made the drive a little over two hours. It was a nice day to drive up the pass and across the high desert.
The venue is located in the revamped downtown area of Lancaster Blvd. It's a nice area full of shops, eateries, a theater, offices, etc.
As I arrived I noticed a band playing the pavilion on the corner. I'll have to check this out.
I pulled around back to unload at the stage door and noticed a new mural since the last time we were here. Pretty cool.
I unloaded and rolled my gear in the back door up to the stage. I was really hoping to see a thick black curtain on the brick wall. Oh well.
I went back out front to check out the band. They played good rockabilly stuff. I'd heard it was a birthday celebration. I didn't stay and chat because I had to get back in to do my thing.
I had allowed plenty of time for my drive. I was the first to arrive, by a long shot. My gear looks a little lonely up there.
So I wandered up to the bar and let Brittany reacquaint me with an Old No. 38 Stout. Most of the rooms we play have a stout that I like. I thanked Brittany for her cheerful hospitality.
All of the country bars and honky tonks we play support our troops. We're a very patriotic bunch.
This looks like a good place to hang out while I sip my suds.
The rest of the band starts to arrive so I watch them do their setup dance. Arnie and I were having so much fun we took pictures of each other. Hmm, that seems a little weird.
I was glad to see Dave back at FOH. His nickname is Mighty Mouse, or just Mouse. We had a new guy the last time we were here and it was not sonicaly pretty. Dave gets Jason and his kit wired up.
Might Mouse's ever-faithful sidekick is Benjamin. Ben is always cheerful and helpful.
The doors are open when we are ready to sound check. But nobody minds. We play a few, adjust some monitors, you know.
Johnny Magic Fingers was having too much fun at sound check. He wouldn't hold still and got the fuzzy face picture.
Amanda gets centered as she places her mic and adjusts her IEMs. She chants, "Be the song, be the song."
After sound check we head downstairs to run some tunes and have some supper. There's a VIP room that's not exactly private but at least it's exclusive.
Downstairs is also Underground Bowling and a pretty large game room. It was busy down here tonight.
I've said this before, this band knows how to eat. This watering hole has some pretty good grub, steak salad, sliders, chicken club sandwich, etc.
The kitchen was out of salmon tonight so I had the Mac-n-cheese Waffles and Chicken Tenders, covered in country gravy. This ain't health food. That's right, those waffles are made of mac-n-cheese and it's all covered with gravy.
Amanda is such a good girl, eating her healthy salad.
After supper we ran through some tunes and then got in our gig clothes. Here's Amanda with our Emcee and dance instructor tonight, Codi, who announced us.
You see Codi on the dance floor as Amanda puts on the show.
The schedule tonight was a little different. We used to play one long two hour set from 10pm to midnight. Now the bands start at 9:30pm, play for an hour, take a thirty minute break, then play the second set from 11pm to midnight. We didn't mind at all. Amanda is probably singing one of her sassy girl songs.
Jason brought his small kit but that snare coming off the brick wall still hurts. I wore earplugs all night.
I don't know what's going on here. Did John spill his beer? I hope not.
On the break I wandered out front for some air and took a picture of the marquis.
The DJ kept everyone entertained. It was a good crowd tonight. Here's a picture from the edge of the sound/DJ booth.
Just before we start the second set the lovely Ms. Amanda Kate joins me in a selfie. We played more of her Carrie Underwood tunes tonight, putting the new show together.
Arnie steps up front to play the guitar intro while Amanda sings, "She was a fast machine, she keeps her motor clean..."
We ended the night with "Don't Stop Believing" and these good folks really had fun with us, singing along and jumping up and down.
Here's something I've never done before. One of our fans (I think it was Codi) posted a short video of our closing number on Instagram. Let's see if this link works:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs2VEZpAovC/?utm_source=ig_embed
And since I was playing in church the next morning I hustled out as quickly as I could. My trusty Astro van was loaded and on the road at 12:30am.
I managed to get three and a half hours sleep before playing in church on Sunday. I drank two ROCKSTAR energy drinks and a cup of coffee that morning. We made a joyful noise.
I'll be busy this week with a paid rehearsal at The Ranch on Tuesday, Fri-Sat nights at The Ranch, and then Sunday afternoon at Swallows Inn. The NAMM snow is in Anaheim this week so I'm hoping a few special guests might stop by.
Thanks for checking in on my little corner of the music world. I really appreciate your support and encouragement. You guys are fun!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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