Disney/Glendale and Santee 6/22/17

Hello friends,

Me and the KRB had a double this past Thursday. The early gig came up suddenly and Kelly jumped on it at first, then she realized we might not be able to make it to our second gig on time. She thought about cancelling, then decided not to. It's on!

Our early gig was an employee party for the Disney Glendale campus, known as their "creative center", the Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI) division and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Our call time was 10:00am for a noon downbeat and after allowing time for the morning rush hour traffic I arrived an hour early to find the stage mostly set up.

We were being backlined today. The Disney folk really helped us as much as they could to get us in, get us out, and on our way to our late gig so that we wouldn't be late. As long as I had time, I wandered around the car show and took a few pictures. Here are a couple of cool old Jaguars from the 50s.

Here's a gull wing BMW.

This wizard wanted to take a selfie with me.

Here's a view of the stage from across the fountain.

The stage was actually a patio that was covered for us. It was a good size but completely square. The four of us were up front with Mario stuck in a back corner. The sound and stage crew are busy at work getting stuff plugged in and set up.

This was Daniel and Art's backline. Art never sets his amp up like that but he was a trooper and used it that way. He didn't play as loud as he normally does and didn't need a shield. I wonder why?

Here's my little backline rig, a GK MB210. It was really fabulous.

In order to help keep us cool the crew brought out a pretty big fan.

Daniel resets the gig clock. There will be no encores at this gig today because we have to scoot! Time is of the essence.

Eric, our FOH guy today, puts the final touches on Mario's mics.

This rack of stuff was right behind our section of the stage, behind Mario. I see mostly Crown amps.

Here's Eric's view from the FOH.

Here's the poster for this gig today.

Mr. Mouse actually fed us a box lunch today. The turkey sandwich was not bad at all.

Then it was time to don our costumes and put on the show. Mario and I got the same shirt to wear. We look just like twins. Kelly and Daniel are taking this way too seriously.

One of the guys from the crew offered to take a band photo.

Here's one of Kelly and the lads while I have nothing to do during an intro.

Mario, that kid can really lay it down.

We finished our gig at about 12:58 so I unplugged, put my bass in the case, loaded it up, and was pulling out of the parking lot at 1:04pm. I left in such a hurry I forgot my guitar stand. That's OK. It gives me an excuse to visit Guitar Center.

As I made my way over eight freeways (the 5, the 134, the 210, the 57, the 71, the 91, the 15, and finally the 52) to get to the park in Santee, I noticed this strange yellow Rumble Bee pickup following me.

Yes, that's Art's truck. We arrive at Town Center Community Park at 3:56, four minutes ahead of schedule.

This is my backline rig for this evening. An MB500, just like the one I own, with an SWR 410 cab. The tweeter was non-functional but it sounded great. This is actually Jack's rig. He brought his own amp and Mario's drums to the gig ahead of us to save us some time. Isn't Jack a great guy to know?

 Hal is ready to sound check.
 

Mario arrived about 15 minutes before Art and I. That kid drives like a maniac!

It looks like we are just about ready to sound check. There were a few gremlins in the PA system but they eventually got worked out.

Here's a shot of the stage. It was real nice.

And the shot from FOH.

Here's Kelly enjoying the sound check.

 After sound check I had just enough time to run to the van and put on my cowboy shirt.

Kelly joins me for a selfie just before we get started. My pictures don't capture it well but there were over 3000 folks in attendance. Santee loves to get out and do stuff.

 On the break I get to meet Miss Santee and Miss Teen Santee, Janee and Carmen.

I'm not quite sure why Mario is looking over his glasses at me.

Hal is ready to put on the show. The young ladies are about to make an announcement.

I think Art and Daniel are in the mood for some culinary country music.

At one point in the evening the crew snaps in a couple of 25' extensions on Kelly's mic cable so she can lead the line dance lesson.

Then she's back on stage belting out all your favorite country/rock/pop tunes from the beginning into eternity.
 

Art throws us a peace sign while Daniel does "Devil Went Down To Georgia".

As the sun sets the field lights come on and the concert is over. Our emcee takes the stage to give away some raffle prizes.
 

Then everyone packs up as quickly as possible. It's been a long day for us.

Except for all the driving, it was a pretty cushy day for me. I was backlined at both gigs. Jack was nice enough to let me use his amp and also bring Mario's drums to the gig. We were tight on time but we made it.

I got home about 11pm, not too late. I drove for about seven hours and played for about three. I guess that's the life of a small time rock star.

Thanks for looking!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

Downtown Disney 6/19/17

Hello dear friends,

It was another warm but pleasant evening near the Happiest Place On Earth. Me and the KRB played the outdoor stage at Downtown Disney in front of the ESPN Zone, the theater, and the Earl of Sandwich. My gig started with a long gear schlep. I guess I could have parked three spaces closer.

You see that blue Disney Hotel? The stage is on the other side another hundred yards or so. After I rolled my gear to the entrance of DTD, unloaded my cart, opened everything up, let security inspect it, then loaded up my car again, I turned around and snapped a photo of the security at the entrance.

But I'm not complaining! That reminds me of an old joke.....oh, never mind.

Jack had already been here and set up the PA. Since we didn't use the snake tonight we all made home runs to the mixer and had a different flavor of cord salad.

The rest of the lads arrive and take the stage. There are no IEMs tonight. We're going old school with amps and monitor wedges and everything.

This is the back of my amp.

Jack makes sure we are plugged in and monitored up.

Kelly arrives and we are just about to start the show. Let's all put on our happy face!

The crowd started off a little light. I think they were waiting for it to cool down a bit.

Since there is no keyboard player tonight, most of the pictures I took were facing stage right.

On the break I take a selfie in front of our sign. If you scan that bar code with your phone it will take you to the KRB website.
 

Here's the stage after sunset. It's kind of pretty.

Kelly gets the show started again. The crowd has really picked up since the sun has gone down.

I think Mario hit his had on his mic stand. Ouch!

What's a visit to Disneyland without some fireworks? They just barely got up over the Rainforest Cafe tonight.

Then we are back for our last set.

If you look closely you can see a celebrity in the audience. (j/k)

And Daniel finishes the night with a rousing rendition of "Devil Went Down To Georgia". Man, he really plays the snot out of that song.

Guess what! We had a special guest in the house this evening. A fellow bassist, Johnathan, stopped by to say hello. Johnathan works with "Another Journey", an excellent Journey tribute. I like Johnathan's shirt!

Kelly said she liked his looks too. Maybe you can sub for me sometime Johnathan? We had a great time chatting and getting caught up, talking about our tribute gigs, etc. But then I had to pack up my gear.

Here's Jack taking a cart load of his PA gear. And that was the night.

My next post will be about a "double", two different gigs in one day. We have another Disney corporate gig in Glendale from noon to 1pm. Then we have to hurry down to Santee to play a park concert where 3000 people are expected. We are supposed to be sound checked by 4:45pm with downbeat at 5:30. We're hoping it won't take longer than three hours to make the drive. Disney is backlining us. Jack is bringing gear to setup our backline before we arrive in Santee. Hopefully we'll have no trouble with traffic. Wish us luck!

Thanks for looking! Tell a friend!



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff