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
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