True Willie at Carson Valley Inn 2/10/17

Hello friends,

On Friday I made a quick trip (fly date) to Reno to play a date at the Carson Valley Inn with the True Willie Band. It was quite an adventure. Here are the lads at one of our recent rehearsals. Roger usually rents the large room at the Riff Haus in Fullerton. (I don't know what's up with their website. I guess it's either hacked or they lost their domain name.)

That's Roger (Willie) on the left, Mike on guitar, and big Dave on drums.

John (keys) and I carpooled to Long Beach Airport. We got started at 6am on Friday morning. John seems upset that he has to pay two baggage charges for his gear. They would not let him check one of them at the gate to avoid the extra charge.

It's been a while since I've boarded a plane from the tarmac. Long Beach Airport (LGB) is a smaller airport and is pretty convenient, depending on where you're going.

It was a fully booked plane both ways. The rhythm section was together on the outbound flight.

Here we are on final at Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO). It's pretty stormy, a little windy, and very wet. They've been having rain and snow for days. You can see the standing water.

We land safely and start gathering our gear and baggage. I'm happy to see that my new SKB-44 Pro and its contents survived its maiden voyage.

I think we've just about collected all of our gear. Now it's time to catch our shuttle to the Carson Valley Inn, usually about an hour away from the airport.

This is Mark, our helpful and friendly shuttle driver. We enjoyed talking to him about the local scene and points of interest.

It was cold, rainy, and windy all the way there. The Carson River had overflowed it banks and several roads in the valley, including Hwy 395 were closed.

There was water everywhere. We passed a semi rig hauling cattle that had been overturned by the wind. It was pretty brutal.

Here's some drone footage that someone posted to Youtube.

But Mark knew the valley well and took us along Foothill Road, it actually was along the foothills and above all the flooding, but we had to take it all the way around the valley in order to make it to the hotel because of so many road closures. It took less time to fly to Reno than it did to drive to the hotel. The flight was an hour and twenty minutes. The shuttle ride was almost two and a half hours because of road closures and traffic. After all that, Mark was good enough to give us a hand with our luggage and instruments.

Since we were running so late we went directly to the ballroom where we were performing. Our soundcheck was supposed to be at 2pm. We made it just in time. Roger got into his Willie get-up because one of the local newspapers was there to do an interview.

It was a lovely ballroom with chairs set up for about 200 guests.

Because we were so late, the staff brought us some sandwiches to munch on while we set up and sound checked. It was a plain turkey sandwich with mustard but I was glad to have it.

It was going to be an intimate concert. The QSC sound system was more than adequate for the room.

Yes, my new case is labeled "BassCliff". My daughter had made stencils and painted the distinguishing marks.

Mike warms up his 335. He's really a fine player and a funny guy, loves to quote Monty Python.

Big Dave is very happy with his backline kit. It was very nice.

Derrick, the one man stage crew and FOH guy, gets John's keyboards squared away. He bent over backwards to make sure we had everything we needed.

Willie and I grab a quick selfie before we start our sound check.

Derrick gets Willie dialed in.

John brought one keyboard. Mike and Roger brought a guitar. I brought my Carvin. Dave brought a stick bag. Everything else was backlined. Here's some of the gear. This was Mike's amp.

Here's my bass amp and QSC floor wedge. That Mark Bass unit was just perfect for this gig.

After we finish sound check we all hustle up to our rooms to get ready for the first show. I took a quick shower and started pounding the coffee. I've been up since 5am. I was very glad that our first show was 5:30 and the second show at 7:30. We would be done at 9pm.

Here's shot of the lads backstage with our banquet hostess, Cindy. She was bubbly and doted on us all night long.

Then Cindy took a picture of the band just before we took the stage.

Joey, one of the executive managers, speaks to the guests and announces the band as Mike and I check our tuning.

I got the feeling that this is more of a small-town place. Joey spoke as if everyone knew everyone else and these folks were all regulars that came out to see the entertainment here. It was very charming.

As you can see, most of the guests were very mature at the first show. The second show had a wider age range. Both crowds were enthusiastic and really enjoyed the show.

Here's Roger with an adoring fan. We had dozens of guests taking pictures with us.

This is the end of the second show. During the second show the band really came alive, like we all got our second wind. We got a standing ovation and played an encore.

I got to sell CDs after this show. John usually does it but he had a lot of gear to pack up so we could all make our dinner reservation. We all went to the steakhouse there at the hotel.

We started with a nice green salad with a terrific creamy vinaigrette dressing. (And a tall IPA with a shot of Patron.)

For supper I had the turf-and-surf special, a petite filet, lobster tail, bacon wrapped scallops, shrimp, clams, vegetables, and the biggest twice-baked potato I had ever seen. It was the size of both of my fists. I ate it all.

When we left the steakhouse a few of Willie's fans spotted him and wanted a picture.

We decided to check out the lounge, where these guys played last year. There was a terrific trio there called "The Vegas Road Show" and the three of them put out a TON of great music.

We sat around, had another drink, and listened. Barbara played left hand bass and keys. She played such great lines with her left hand that I told Barbara I'm going to steal some of her licks. Her husband Cody played excellent guitar. They both sang great. Both of them have worked with lots of famous people, being based in Las Vegas for 20 years or so.

I decided to go outside to find the marquis and get a picture with "True Willie" on it. But it was on the other side of the building. It was too cold (29 degrees F) to walk around the complex.

 When I came back in, what did I see?
 

Yep, Willie sat in with the band. These three could play anything. Barbara even played trumpet while kicking left hand bass. She played Maynard Ferguson's "Chameleon" and just blew it out of the park. It was fun talking to those two. Andy, the drummer was a great guy too. He played quietly but with a lot of intensity. It was a good hang.

The next morning we met for breakfast in the coffee shop. I had sausage and scrambled eggs. John had chicken fried steak and eggs. 

We were relieved to hear that Hwy 395 was open and that we would have no trouble getting back to the airport. Willie was so happy that he even loaded his own guitar on the shuttle.

But then Roger took off. When I found him out in the parking lot I wondered what he was looking at.

When I walked around to that side of the building I had to take a picture of the mountains too.

Of course Mark, who knows everything, says "I've got a great place where you all can take a picture". So on the way to the airport we make a quick stop for a glam shot.

It was a beautiful drive back to Reno.

The flight home was uneventful. That was a good thing considering all the excitement the day before. We got a really nice write-up in the local Tahoe entertainment news.... Doppelganger in a bandana: True Willie Band emulates Willie.

Thanks to the photographer we got a few action shots.

We get to do this again in a couple of weeks. We have another fly date up to a place called Feather Falls Casino and Lodge on March 1st. I'm hoping the weather will be a little nicer.

But before then I'll have a couple of gigs with the KRB at one of the Palm Springs golf clubs. Those are always cushy gigs except for the drive. Until then, thanks for looking!

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff