Hyatt Regency, Huntington Beach, Nuix Inc. 9/27/15

Hello friends and neighbors,

What's even more rare than a Tuesday or Thursday night gig for us is a Monday night gig. We played a corporate event for Nuix Inc, a software company that deals in information management applications for lawyers, law enforcement, investigation, cyber security, records management, etc. Pretty geeky stuff.

The event was held at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach CA. I pulled up to the front door just like I owned the place and told them I was with the band. The valet even parked my Astro van on the client's dime. As I unloaded I noticed this cool statue of Aquaman. (Actually, I suppose it's Poseidon.)

This place was lousy with fountains. Here's another on the way to the conference center where the Huntingon Ballroom was located. 

This courtyard, located between our green room and the ballroom, was quite an attractive place. 

My buddy asked if I'd like to take his longboard for a spin before the gig but I didn't want to play with wet hair.

Art seems to like our green room, the Bolsa Chica room, one of the smaller conference rooms at the facility.

The hotel has its own bridge over to the beach.

We load in our gear and start setting up. This is the random backstage mess.

Out front the staff are busy putting the room together. There was a meeting in here earlier so no one could get in to set up until the meeting was over, us included.  

 Jack was running sound for us again. We're all lending each other a hand trying to sound check as soon as possible.

This is the theme for the evening, a Route 66 Gala Dinner. 

I thought, "Why not?" I'll try a car selfie. 

We were really setting up in a hurry, no snake, just slamming stuff into the board. What a mess. 

Here you see a couple of the raffle prizes, a retro radio and a Les Paul.  

The Les Paul even had those auto-tuning pegs. 

I thought the staff did a great job with the tables. 

I even got one of those cool little paper car decorations for the top of my amp. 

We're all set up and sound checked. Here's a view from near the back of the room.  

And a shot from a little closer.

We walk back across the courtyard to have supper in the green room. On the way I stop to take a picture of the sunset on the beach. 

There is some activity on the other side of the bridge. I'll ask what's going on over there later.  

The courtyard is a lovely place to hang out. Even after the sun went down it was still pretty warm, even by the beach.

Jeff helps himself to some tea from the hospitality offerings. I help myself to some coffee. 

I had some really good chicken, vegetables, and mashed potatoes for supper tonight. Not bad at all!

Everyone enjoys their meal as Rebbecca takes great care of us.

After supper we put on our uniforms and take pictures before we take the stage. Sorry, no Daniel tonight. The gig didn't call for a fiddle. 

Oh, why not? Here's a back stage selfie.

After our first 15 minute set we get a 30 minute break. (I know, tough gig!) I hear music coming from the beach. You may be able to see the red tent and other stuff over there.

It turns out that the Carl Karcher comany (of Carl's Jr. fame) was also having a corporate event. They had a live band too.

We come back for our second set, a long one, a combination of dinner music followed by dance music. Kelly and I take an amp selfie.

Jeff is ready to hang ten on his keyboard.

Mario knows that we have to play very, very quietly during the dinner set.

Kelly and Art share their lovely smiles before we start the set.

I think this is some kind of pinkie promise. Mario promises not to rush and Jeff promises to play on all the keys, because all keys matter.

We step back from the mics just for a few minutes while the emcee gives away the raffle prizes.

Then we hit the dance music. Toward the end of the night, we quit at 10pm, there were a couple of tables, there always are, who were really into the band and having a lot of fun. Trudy decided she wanted to dance on stage with the band.

Then a couple of her friends also wanted to get on stage and sing with the band. We all sang "Live Is A Highway" together.

Ha! I just noticed that they projected us on the big screens behind us.

Trudy and her friends belt it out. We were having fun.

The teleprompter screen in front of the stage was also getting video feed of the band.

At ten o'clock they shut us down. That's OK. We had had enough fun. I give Jeff and Jack a hand packing their gear before starting in on my own. Jeff wasn't feeling well and Jack just had a lot of stuff.

We're back at The Ranch this weekend, both Friday and Saturday nights. My boss told me he is coming out again with his wife and some other family members. That should be fun. No, really. It will be. My boss is pretty cool. He even takes line dance lessons.

Until then, thank you for supporting live music!

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Cruisin' For A Cure, OC Fairgrounds 9/26/15

Hello friends and neighbors,

This past Saturday (9/26/15) the KRB played the largest single day charity car show in the country. Cruisin' For A Cure boasts over 3500 cars on display and over 200 vendors and exhibitors. They loved us and we've already been invited back for next year. Here's the flyer.

We had to load in super early, a 7:30 AM call time. I always plan to be there at least a half hour early and this is the bank time when I left my house.

Yes, I left my house about 6am on a Saturday morning, practically unheard of!

I arrived at our assigned gate at the fairgrounds and was able to drive right up to the stage. To do this I actually had to drive on the parade route. More on that later. Here's the stage.

 Under the tarps were tables of plaques and trophies that would be given out later that day.

Kelly's husband, Jack, was running sound, had the PA pretty much in place, and was finishing up all the connections.

The theme of the day was, "Hey! This band sounds like Jack!".

I set up my rig and took pictures of the cars surrounding the stage. The area directly behind the stage is always rented by the same restoration shop. They do good work.

I guess I should've been paying more attention to where I was placing my cables. I hurt myself on the gig. My thumb caught a tack, nail, or staple under the stage's astroturf and took a chunk of skin right out of the tip. Ouch!

It bled like crazy for about 15 minutes but eventually subsided after continuous direct pressure. I thought I would get blood all over my bass but it stopped before sound check.

This nice Corvair was near the stage. I've always had a soft spot for these cars. I helped my Dad fix up one just like this when I was a kid. It was our family car for years. He painted it red!

This restored, slightly modified VW Bug was right behind the stage. My daughter loves Bugs. She could have this one for only $40,000. Notice the 4-wheel disc brakes?

I had to get a shot of this contraption as it rolled by on the parade route. Don't ask me about it. It's wacky but kind of cool.

Art, Daniel, and Mario find the stage and start setting up. Everything is going along nicely until Mario notices that his floor tom legs don't fit the drum. The correct legs are in his other hardware bag. Oops.

But Mario comes up with a plan! It worked wonderfully!

Yes, drumstick legs for his floor tom. Pretty cute.

We finish setting up and go park our cars before we sound check. We have to hit the parade route again to get to the employee parking lot.

I snap a couple of pictures along the way. I couple of folks gave me a funny look. I told them, "Here's a classic Astro van, only driven to gigs by the original musician owner, just a baby at 123,000 miles!"

As I rolled along the parade route I overheard a couple of other guys talking as they eyed my van, "Wow, that one looks kind of funky!".

Jeff got a late start this morning but he made it to the gig on time and was ready to go.

Kelly arrives for sound check, well-caffeinated and looking cute.

Mario even has a couple of drum stick left over to play with.

This really cool acca pella group, Augie's Side Effect, performed all over the grounds today. They opened the festivities by singing the National Anthem. They were terrific.

This was our announcer for the day, David. He was a little old guy with a great voice and great sense of humor. He must've had a career in radio or voiceover, a real pro.

I hadn't seen the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile in a long, long, time. I had to run over to the parade route behind the stage and grab a photo.

This is what my Astro van could look like, if I didn't kill it driving to all my gigs.

Here's a panorama of just one of the parking lots full of classic cars, acres and acres of classic cars.

Oh yeah, I heard there was a band at this car show. Here's Art giving Daniel some devil horns during that song.

Kelly throws in some harmony.

We take a break so I cruise around looking at all the fine machinery, taking pictures of those that catch my eye. Here's a Cobra, only $90,000.

Here's a '56 VW Bug, with the oval rear window, a steal at only $35,000.

We're getting ready to start our second set. Kelly takes an amp-selfie with me.

Kelly gets her girls up to sing about dogs, a song from their CD "Songs About Dogs".

It's a little later in the day now and the crowd is really starting to get into ..... the shade. It was in the 90s today.

It's break time again so I go looking for more classic cars in cool buildings. Here's an Ultima GTR in the middle of a bunch of classic Corvettes and other muscle cars.

And another VW Bug convertible for my daughter. Please pardon the puppy.

The break is over and the band gets back to work.

Kelly puts on her black straw hat. I like it. I'm thinking of getting one.

Here are a few shots from friends' social media.

I must be singing "Wagon Wheel" again.

The first set was lightly attended but the other three attracted good crowds. Everyone had fun but it was too hot to dance.

At the end of the day, 2:30 PM, we could not pull back onto the parade route. It was going continuously throughout the day. Part of the parade route was right behind the stage and every time someone would race their engine I would turn around to see if my amp was blowing up. We had to haul our gear about a half mile out to the parking lot. I sure am glad I got a Rock-n-Roller cart.

Then, wouldn't you know it? Freeway construction made my drive home miserable.
 

But I won't complain too much. It was a pretty nice day, a little warm, but I got to play some music, make a little money, see some cool cars, and help raise money and awareness for prostate cancer.

At one point of the day Kelly was reminding the audience that free prostate cancer screenings were being offered in a building near the stage. She encouraged everyone to get their free screenings. I said, "You know, my back door could use a new screen." The band laughed. I said, "What? Did I say that on the microphone? I meant the back door of my house!"

A good time was had by all. Thanks for looking.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff