Citadel Outlet Mall, 11/12/17

Hello gang!

We played this gig last year.

This year the Citadel Outlet Mall seemed to want to make their shopping season kick-off a bigger production. You'll see what I mean a little later on.

I left directly after church to drive to my "help the masses overindulge in excessive disproportionate materialism" celebration. It was a pretty easy drive early on a Sunday afternoon, about an hour.

The outlet mall was well decorated.

The traffic is quite inconvenient getting in and out of such a popular place of capitalist overindulgence.

I navigated to the world's tallest natural Christmas tree and found a huge stage with truss lighting and everything. This is quite a different setup from last year when we were set up on an 8x12" riser.

This is a really nice stage, not cheap.

There was a "school of rock" kind of band on before us. They did a few original songs and some "mom and dad" songs too (Stairway To Heaven, Don't Stop Believing).

These kids sounded good and did a nice job of getting their stuff off the stage quickly. I was impressed. There was supposed to be only a half hour turnaround between the bands. We made it just in time. What floored me about this gig this year is that the mall spent all that money on the huge stage and truss lighting, but did not hire a sound company. The band before us brought their own sound system. The mall told us that they had a system available and we could bring gear to supplement. So that's what Jack did. We ended up using two of his powered Mackie monitor speakers as mains to supplement the mall's version of mains. We got by with only two monitors on stage. It wasn't great but we made it work. I'm glad I brought my "large" rig. I knew we'd be outside without a full sound system. Here's the view from the stage as we got started.

Here's the BassCliff monolith case parked in front of the world's tallest Christmas tree.

And Kelly kicks off the show!

Mario brought his little kit because he thought we'd be in the same dinky stage we were last year.

Kelly entertains the masses.

Here's Daniel performing his big hit with Art providing the devil horns, or are those rabbit ears?

This was all we had for hospitality, a few leftover sodas from the other bands earlier in the day.

Here are a couple of pictures lifted from the social medias, a montage. Hmm, the bass player seems to get the bad lighting.

Here's one from out front.

We were the last band of the day so there was no hurry to get off the stage. I hung around to help Jack with his gear.

As soon as we ended our last number at 5pm the stage crew started tearing down the stage and lights. We kind of had to not waste any time so as to get out of their way. I guess they wanted to get home early too.

And that was my Sunday afternoon gig. Me and the KRB will be at Downtown Disney this Wednesday evening (11/15/17). I'll get to sing "Please Come Home For Christmas" again. I get to sing that song only three or four times a year, and I really like that song. Here's a little clip of that song at Knott's Merry Farm a couple of years ago.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

Valley View Casino, 11/4/17

Hello friends,

Me and the KRB have played this lounge quite a few times now, but since I'm in the habit I thought I'd share a few pictures any way.

It was a pleasant drive down to San Diego County on a Saturday evening. No major traffic issues.

A good half hour off the freeway in Valley Center is the casino there on the top of the hill, the large building on the left.
 

This is the view of the valley (hence the name) from near the loading dock. I imagine the view is even better from the hotel rooms.

We check in at the security desk, trading our drivers license for a security badge. The staff is helpful and friendly. 

Then we make our way around to the back of the lounge to load in. Here is Art getting his gear inspected. 

The management here just doesn't want anything going in or out that's not supposed to. I guess you can't blame them these days.

Here is our hard-working sound crew. You might remember Craig. The new guy in the green shirt is John. 

Here's the audio gear. It's a pretty nice setup. We all get our own wireless IEM pack and an iPhone to adjust our own mix.

It looks just like a little mixer. One page has vocals, another page has instruments, a third has drums. There is a fourth page but we don't use it. I guess larger bands with more instruments would.

It takes about ten minutes to sound check now that we're all dialed in. It's a pretty cushy gig.

Rick is subbing for Mario on this gig and we are going without keyboards. Skip had another gig tonight. 

I brought my Carvin LB76 and the Guild Pilot 5 as a backup. This is pretty much a plug-n-play gig. I love not schlepping gear.

I'm playing a little hurt tonight. My tooth is bothering me. You might be able to see my swollen jaw. It's actually gone down a bit. Yesterday it looked like I had a tennis ball in my cheek. 

We are all wired up and the curtain is about to open. It's time to entertain the gamblers. 

Kelly puts on the show. I managed to sneak a few pictures on stage.

The crowd was a typical behind-the-bar casino lounge crowd. They came, they had fun, they went.

Daniel did "Devil" twice tonight. The crowd always loves that one.

On our break we visited the employee cafeteria. Tonight was fried chicken, gyros, pizza, sandwiches, etc.

I opted for lots of vegetables and protein, grilled chicken, thin sliced beef, salad, steamed veggies, and brussel sprouts.

I had to be good so that I could have some dessert.

The cafeteria is a pleasant room and the staff is friendly. After a cup of coffee it was back to the show.

Rick opted to bring headphones instead of earbuds. That V-Drum kit was not his favorite. You have to hit very precisely to get good sounds out of the triggers.

We had a pretty good crowd for the last set.

Here's a shot from out front taken by Craig, our FOH guy. He would sit out front with his iPad and mix on the fly.

At the end of the night we load out through here. There are stairs too but we usually just toss our stuff off the loading dock.

We were the early band this Saturday (5-9pm). Another band plays from 10pm to 1am. I like the early shift better. I was home about 11pm. Even thought this is a pretty cushy gig it's still a nine hour day for me when you include the driving. But I'm not complaining. That's the life of a small-time rock star. Thanks for looking!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Y.A. Tittle Event, 10/25/17

Hello friends,

This gig was a bit of an adventure. Aren't they all? Me and the True Willie Band were hired to play for a 'celebration of life' event for the recently departed Y. A. Tittle, who was the NFL quarterback in the 60s. What we thought was going to be a large production for many NFL celebrities turned out to be a small-ish gathering for family and friends to reminisce and celebrate the life of the family patriarch, not the NFL all-star. Willie Nelson was Y.A.'s favorite singer and we were honored to take part in his memorial celebration.

This was basically a 24-hour adventure. We flew out of LAX about 9pm on Tuesday and flew home from SFO at 8:30pm on Wednesday. John and I began our experience about 5pm when he picked me up. We allowed ourselves plenty of time to get to LAX during the rush hour traffic. If you look off in the distance you can barely make out the buildings of downtown LA.

Since we all arrived plenty early we were able to enjoy a refreshing beverage before we boarded. Here you see the bass player, Mike, John, Roger, and Dave.

Mike's two carry-on items were his hat and his guitar. We like flying Southwest because your first two checked items are free plus you can have two carry-ons.

I thought it would be fun to bring my ukulele on this trip. I did a little picking and grinning while our car was procured at SFO.

We had to get a vehicle that would fit us, our instruments, and our luggage. The Suburban was very comfy.

Since no one had eaten supper yet we stopped at In-n-Out on the way to the motel. I was hungry so I opted for the 4x4 animal style.

We stayed at a Days Inn Motel near the event. It was not a bad place to lay your head.

There was plenty of room for me and my bass. By the time I ironed my clothes for tomorrow and brushed my teeth it was almost 2am before we laid down. Then I was up at 7am the next morning.

This was the view from my balcony. We weren't here long enough to take advantage of the pool.

After my five hour nap we were able to have breakfast in the motel lobby. We were "wheels up" at 9am to go to the venue.

When John brought down his module rack it was all rattle-y inside. The baggage handlers must've thrown this case around pretty good. All four screws on the rack ears were stripped and the module had broken loose in the case. We had to perform an emergency repair. My Leatherman multi-tool came in very handy. We had to pack the screw holes with a bit of wire from some twist ties.

Then we were on our way. Unfortunately, Siri got us lost. Siri got us close, to the right street, but not to the proper location of the address.

We called the sound/backline company. They were supposed to be there at 9am to start setting up the stage and gear. They were not on scene yet. (???) A couple of the crew had made it to the venue so we got their number and they guided us. But the truck with all the gear had not arrived yet.

We pulled into a large field next to the residence where the event was bring held.

The event was being held in the back yard of one Y.A.'s family members. It looks like both the sound company and the catering company are a little behind the curve this morning.

Finally the gear truck arrives with the backline and sound system, over an hour behind schedule. We pitch in to lend a hand setting up.

Dave got a pretty nice DW kit and I got an older GK rig. It sounded good but it was about twice as heavy as my rig. I'm glad I didn't have to carry it. I just set it up on stage and plugged it in.

This is Tim, part of the sound crew. He helped set up and ran monitors.

This is Austin. He ran FOH.

Jeff and Casey help John get his keys set up on the riser. The back porch wasn't big enough for the whole band.

The "stage" is slowly coming together. We were supposed to be done with soundcheck by noon. We weren't too late. At least we finished before the guests arrived.

The memorial funeral service was held at another location, probably one of the larger churches in the area. The catering staff was expecting about 200 for this memorial life celebration. Finally we get to soundcheck. Mr. Johnny Fingers tickles the ivory.

Our gracious hosts let us use their master bedroom as our green room. Here Tim is fixing up Dave's monitors.

The weather was warm but not too warm unless you were in the direct sun. We moved a large umbrella over the stage area.

Here is the view from my mic. You see Tim working on monitors and Austin working on the FOH. These kids and their iPads these days can do some pretty cool stuff.

We finish our soundcheck just in time to gobble down a sandwich before we start playing. This local sandwich shop was killer. I had the pastrami and cheese on rye.

Here's my amp-selfie just before we start the show.

The caterers served lunch. It looked like pulled pork sandwiches. We didn't eat lunch with the guests. We were busy making noise.

Drummer Dave and I trade pictures while Mike looks on.

This is Y.A.'s son Rook. He said just a few words, welcomed everyone, and announced the band.

Then it was on with the show. It was a little subdued, but fun.

Most folks hung out in the shade. There wasn't much except near the trees and under the umbrellas.

John had good shade next to his tree. You also see the group sitting in the shade on the other side of the caterers.

We had a few folks dancing and lots of folks taking pictures.

Willie and the boys are having more fun as the crowd warms up.

At one point we had a guest singer, Steve - another of Y.A.'s sons, sits in with the band and sings "On The Road Again". Steve used to sing that song to his Dad almost every day during his declining years. Then all the sons, brothers, and other close friends and relatives posed for a picture with True Willie.

John can feel the love in this close family.

We played a few encores. We had a special request for "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground". We just happen to know that one.

As the shade crept across the yard we had more listeners join us in front of the stage.

After the show was meet-n-greet and picture time. Meet a couple of granddaughters, Caryn and Gretchen (sisters!).

More friends of the family.

I put my bass in my case and left the rest to the stage crew. Sometimes I am really blessed.

I was able to help myself to a couple of adult beverages since I wasn't driving.

I did have to pack the Suburban. But that was no big deal.

These arrangements must've come from the funeral service. Four of them were placed at the entrance to the back yard. I thought they were lovely.

Then it was time for supper. This was also a time for family members to share memories. This is Rook telling tales of his Dad.

In the blue shirt is Pat, Y.A.'s brother, sharing some memories. You could tell he really misses his big brother. That's Y. A.'s son, Steve, sitting on the sub-woofer. He sang with us earlier.

This is Elysa, another granddaughter. She and her husband Tye were our hosts. This is their house. They were gracious and generous. Everyone we met was so nice and welcoming and made us feel at home.

While friends and family took turns speaking, we were able to have some of the catered supper. This BBQ was excellent. I had the pork ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. This stuff was great.

And for dessert we had both pecan pie and peach cobbler.

Then it was time to drive back to the airport. Here's a view of San Francisco as we make our way down the freeway.

After dropping off the rental you have to take the train back to the terminals. It's been a trains, plans, and automobiles kind of a trip.

John and I check our luggage and instruments. This nice young man put "Fragile" stickers all over our gear. That's the first time that's ever happened.

There goes my Carvin in its SKB case, complete with "Fragile" stickers, just like a major award.

Again we were at the airport in time to enjoy a refreshing beverage before we leave.

The agent counters were all decorated and spooky, what with it being near Halloween and all.

Since I had brought my tablet, we were able to watch the last couple of innings of the World Series game two while in the air. It was a good game.

Here we are waiting on our shuttle to take us back to our parking lot. It was a long day but very rewarding in several ways.

John drove us home. Thanks John. I was able to get about six hours sleep and then it was back to the grind this morning. That's the life of a small-time rock star. Thanks for stopping by and having a look. I think the next gig I have is a Saturday at Valley View Casino with the KRB. Until then....


Thank you for you for your indulgence,

BassCliff