Crusin' For A Cure at OC Fairgrounds 9/23/17

Hello good people,

This was our third year playing for Crusin' For A Cure, a benefit and car show to raise awareness and funds for treatment and research of prostate cancer, the number one cancer in men and the most treatable if detected early. This LA Times article mentions "live music". I guess that was us.

Since the call time for me and the KRB was 7:30 AM on a Saturday morning there was very little traffic on the commute into the OC. So I took a picture of the Honda Center.

And Angel Stadium.

I rolled onto the OC Fairgrounds right on time.

The band got to park in the VIP section so I didn't have to roll my gear very far to our stage on the Promenade. 

I could see cool cars already. This is the largest single day classic car show in the country. I took a picture of my gear next to an Indy car and drag racer.

I found the stage and joined in the setup dance.

Jack added another sub to his PA system. They are actually his bass cabs, an 18 and a 410 SWR cabs, and they work pretty dang good.

This is a view of the Promenade, sort of the center of the fairgrounds, from behind the stage.

The Hangar, where I played with True Willie recently, is on the far side of the Promenade in the direction we are looking above. My buddy Rick is subbing for Mario today. He did a bang-up job.

Skyler is helping Jack with sound today and spinning tunes on the breaks.

Art and Daniel call a truce. Notice there are no rabbit ears in this picture.

Here's a behind-the-band view as Kelly's girls sing a couple of songs and Jack plays bass.

Daniel takes a solo during the girls' number.

While A. Rae and The Rescue Dogs entertain I take a couple of pictures of the parade. This is "Miss Cruisin' For A Cure".

The Grand Marshall of the parade.

Kelly gets up to sing with her girls. It's a family affair.

Kelly almost always brings snacks for her boys. These are not just for me.

On a break I wander the grounds a bit. There are acres and acres of classic cars here. over 3000 entries.

There were buildings full of cool cars too.

A couple of cars caught my attention today. I've always liked Camaros. I think this is a '69.

These cars are really built, and clean. 

This '57 Olds 98 also caught my eye. 

Look at that motor!

On the next break I decided to take care of business. At this event they give away free PSA and DRE screening. I had some blood drawn. Test results should be back in a couple of weeks. 

Then I was escorted into a cute little examination room with flowers and wine to set the mood.

Unfortunately, the doctor didn't open the wine. Hey all you guys over 40! This is something you need to take care of, every year for guys over 50. The doctor said everything was normal for me. Prostrate cancer is very common but very treatable when detected early. Get it done!

On the next break it was lunch time! Art and I made our way over to the VIP tent for the buffet. 

The vittles looked pretty dang good! 

I had a couple of tasty BBQ chicken breasts, several slices of roast beef, a big salad, and a spot of mashed potatoes. Oh, and a couple of chocolate chip cookies. 

On the way back to the stage we took a look at some of the movie cars. 

It was a stroll-by crowd but everyone who stopped by enjoyed themselves. 

Rick is laying down the beat as the girls sing a couple more songs. 

It's "Devil Went Down To Georgia" time again. There are no rabbit ears this time. But I do see an elbow. 

The drummer drums. 

Our very own Skip is a prostate cancer survivor. He got the commemorative t-shirt and wore it proudly. 

At the end of our last set all of the survivors gathered for a photo op. Skip is right there in the middle. 

While the survivors are getting their picture taken the band strikes the stage. 

 I grabbed a picture from the social medias.

And that was my gig. It was a pretty normal gig except for the medical procedures.

The next pictures I post will be from Jacksonville, Florida. How about that? Thanks for looking!

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Huntington Beach Public Library Theater, 9/20/17

Hey guys!

Me and the True Willie Band played a small performing arts center at the Huntinton Beach Public Library, a matinee show on Wednesday. I think this show must've been part of an excursion package for a couple of seasoned citizen communities. The average age of the audience seemed to be near 70 but they were a great crowd. Most of them came in by bus, some from the high desert.

I had to survive the morning commuter traffic heading down into the OC. That 57 freeway is always crowded.

But I allowed plenty of time to arrive before call time. The Huntington Beach Public library is an older, but very lovely facility.

Since I didn't see the theater I walked inside to ask and saw this large beautiful fountain.

I got directions and made my way downstairs to the theater.

Besides the two QSC monitors you see there, the sound crew brought in four more so that we had no trouble hearing ourselves. I really liked the backdrop. You can't see the wagonwheel, bull skull, lanterns, buckets, and other stuff that just screams, "'Murica!"

I was directed to a spacious green room that had a couple of private changing rooms and restrooms beyond the open doors you see the left.

This is Heidi. She was our stage assistant. She asked if I needed help getting my boots on. (Just kidding!)

This facility puts on a lot of different shows. Here's one of their flyers.

This is Bethany's banner out in the lobby. She does all kinds of impersonations.

Today Bethany will be performing as Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Reba McEntire. (This is not the same performer we will be working with in Jacksonville next week.)

The stage crew is hard at work getting the extra monitors wired up and the microphones placed. This is Maurice getting stuff plugged in.

Dave and John set up their drums and keyboards.

Carlos (FOH) gets the mics placed on the kit. Mike places his amp. I think he said it was a '68 Twin. He always brings a backup when he uses this particular amp. Today the backup amp is that little orange Roland.

Maurice, Carlos, and Cole get the stage all wired up and ready for sound check.

John looks like he's about ready. Cole is a blur of activity.

All Mike needs now is a guitar. He usually plays his pretty '82 ES335.

After we sound check we are treated to a light lunch. Since our call time was 10am I was thankful for the croissant sandwiches.

You also see the set list for the first half of the show. We started at 1:30 and played until a little after 3pm. Dave and John enjoy our snacks while we try to remember what keys all these songs are in.

True Willie gets into the zone.

It's time to don our show attire. I've even got new boots for the occasion, eel.

Heidi indulges me with one more picture before we take the stage. She works at several other theaters and loves being in the background, making the magic happen.

We had doors open at 12:30 and our downbeat is 1:30. The curtains are closed and the screen is down for an introductory video. We take our places on stage under the subdued lighting.

Heidi is ready and available. She'll be moving mic stands around as we transition between Willie and "All The Girls".

Dave is ready to count'er off.

John is ready to tickle the ivory.

I'm ready to play the bass part.

This show kicks off with us playing some "walk-on" music for Minnie Pearl, who comes out and does about 4 minutes of stand-up in "Hee Haw" style. Bethany as Minnie is pretty dang funny.

Then she introduces True Willie and we start our show.

True Willie did four or five numbers, then one of the girls would come out. Loretta Lynn did a couple of numbers first.

Then True Willie played five or six more and Patsy Cline came out to join us for a couple.

After Patsy we did a few more, and then Reba McEntire came out for a couple of numbers.

True Willie finished the show.

 

Mike takes a solo. He's a fabulous player.

 

The bass player helps True Willie sing a song. 

The True Willie Band. 

I grabbed this shot just after we played our last note of the walk-off music at the end of the show. The theater was not quite sold out but was really full. I think the audience was in a hurry to get in line for our meet-and-greet.

Everyone was so enthusiastic and told us how much they enjoyed the show. They were a fun crowd to play for. When the meet-and-greeters trickled down I was able to get a selfie with Reba.

 Then is was time to be a roadie again. Such is the life of a small time rock star.

I had only to pack up my two basses. This theater was so small I didn't even bother bringing an amp. I just went direct and put bass in the monitors. I could hear everything just fine. No volume wars in this band.

Next week is our big trip to the Alhambra Dinner Theater in Jacksonville, Florida. We're all very excited and expect it to be a smashing success.

But first I have one more show with the KRB at the Orange County Fairgrounds this Saturday playing for the Cruisin' For A Cure benefit and car show. That's always a hoot. Thanks for looking!




Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff