True Willie in Austin, 6/2/18

Hello friends and neighbors,

First of all, a big shout out to James and Steve for reaching out and making me feel like I have friends in town.

I scheduled a couple of vacation days off work so I could make this trip with TW and the lads. I was going to drive us to the airport but at the last minute John decided to drive. It was a bit of a hassle getting to LAX this morning because the 210, the 10 and the 60 were all jacked up going westbound. We went all the way down the 57 to the 91, took a little jog down the 110, and than back up the 405 to get to the airport. And thus begins this episode of "The Californians".

John and I usually park at Wally Park. They have free water and coffee. Here I am helping myself to some extra strong coffee.

We unloaded all of our gear and luggage and John went to park the car.

The shuttle showed up while John was in the restroom. I put all of our gear on the shuttle and begged the driver to wait for my friend.

We made it to the airport in plenty of time. I would always rather be early than cut it close or be late. You never can tell what might happen when you travel. John and I check our bags at the skycap. It's just too convenient.

We met up with the rest of the lads at the terminal. Everybody was early this morning. Soon it's time for John and Mike to meander down the gantry to our plane.

The plane launches into the sky. There are big signs on the runway that say "NO Turns Until After Shoreline". Looking north along the shore we see Playa Del Ray Beach and Venice Beach.

It seems it took our pilot a while to turn around. I thought we were going to end up in Hawaii. But then I saw the Salton Sea below us and knew we were headed back in the right direction. From the air you really get a feeling for how huge this inland sea really is.

Here we are, the bass player and the keyboard player, hurtling through the atmosphere stuck in a tube going 600 miles per hour at 36,000 feet.

There's a story ahead of this next picture. I brought my ukulele on this trip just to have something to plink around on (and draw attention to myself). After we took our seats (before we took off), one of the flight attendants heard me playing. She immediately came back and said, "Come to the front with me". I followed her to the front, she got on the mic and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Cliff is going to entertain you!" She held the mic in front of me and I launched into one of my big ukulele hits that I've been playing since I was a wee lad. The passengers were quite responsive and the attendant said, "I'm going to comp you a drink." So in true "Rigs Of Dads" fashion ("Rigs of Dad" is a popular Instagram account), I enjoyed a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy.
 

 

As we were landing I tried to get a good shot of downtown Austin but it was rather hazy. You can sort of see it under the wingtip.

I'm sure being such a live music town, the citizens of Austin see this kind of thing all the time; a gaggle of humans dragging their instruments through the airport.

If you're wondering who that is on the right, that's Mrs. TW. She came along this trip because they have family in the area and are staying a couple of extra days after the rest of us fly home.

We actually had a guy in a dark suit, with a sign, waiting for us at the airport. It was pretty cool. He led us to our "car" which was actually a huge Mercedes van.

This is Chris, also a bass player, who took great care of us and treated us to a safe and enjoyable conveyance to our destination.

And, of course, the very welcoming town of Austin even provided a Police escort for our trip downtown. That was unexpected.

If I'm not mistaken, this particular bridge over the Colorado River (not the river in the Grand Canyon) attracts a crowd at sunset to watch all the bats fly out from under it after sleeping under there all day.

Here's just a picture of us driving into downtown Austin.

We arrive at The W, where we'll be staying for a couple of nights. It's a pretty fancy-schmancy place. We're all acting like tourists, at least I am.
 

There's even a doorman, in this case a 'door person' to let us in.

The lobby is impressive.

Down this little hallway is the lounge. Later they'll have a DJ and lots of beautiful people milling about.

We all get checked in at the very trendy looking front desk.

The staff treats us to champagne while we wait to get checked in. I could get used to this.

My room is on the 7th floor. It's not a huge room but it's trendy looking and has all the comforts of a hotel room.

I've got a pretty nice view from my room looking out over downtown and the Colorado River.

I noticed this door as I was walking through the hotel. Being just the bass player I thought it best if I didn't see what was on the other side.

Since I hadn't eaten all day I was thrilled to find out that this was the place to go in town for tacos. The concierge even gave us all a ride over there to the location on Congress Street.

I enjoyed the "Trailer Park" (battered deep fried chicken) and the "Alabama Shake" (fried catfish) tacos. Wow! They were really great along with the refried black beans.

After supper we walked back to The W and took in the sights. This motel is famous for its sign. I don't know. Maybe you can see why?

This is the view walking across the 'bat bridge' approaching downtown.

We stopped at a little place to enjoy an adult beverage and then made our way back to the hotel. I took a moment to enjoy the local atmosphere.

Here we are, back at our home for the next couple of nights.

This statue of Willie is on the corner next to The W and the 3ten/ACL, where we'll be playing tomorrow.

Here's a little history of Austin City Limits. We'll be playing a more intimate venue downstairs from the room where ACL TV show is currently filmed.

I stopped around the corner to pick up some of the local brew to enjoy while I type up this gig report. It's pretty good.

The refrigerator in this room was stocked FULL of booze. I had to take out half of it so I could fit my six pack in there. There are all kinds of bottled water, snacks, beer, wine, little liquor bottles, and such to tempt you into taking advantage of the convenience. But, man, the water is $3 a bottle. I'm trying to use some will power so I don't incur any extra room charges. But then, I suppose it's a tax deduction, right?

The next day I went down early to check out the venue since the backline company had delivered all the gear. The concierge took me to the secret hallway into the back of the 3ten. Up that hallway, through the metal door, and take a left.

This hallway went by the kitchen (of course) and some employee support areas. 

I walked in the back door of the 3ten and was greeted by this picture of Willie onstage somewhere. 

Here are the light and sound boards. 

A view of the stage from FOH.

A little closer to the stage. 

I'm not sure who's left-handed bass that is. But we'll be sharing that bass rig between the Willie band and the Elvis band. 

Here I am at the 3ten with my little ukulele. 

After checking out the venue, introducing myself to the FOH guy, Matt, the light guy, John, and the stage manager, Jack, I went back out front in search of food. I stopped to share a moment with Willie. 

This is what The W looks like in the daytime. That's my digs up there on the 7th floor. 

I strolled around the corner to the Royal Blue Grocery and had a Reuben sandwich from their deli counter. Even though we're not getting fed 'at the gig' we are getting a per diem so I figure it's gig food, right? It was tasty. 

Now I'm about to head downstairs to sound check. The Elvis band is supposed to sound check between 4pm and 5pm. We sound check at 5pm. I'm going down just a little early to check out the other guys and rub elbows.

Thanks for sticking around. I think we left off this adventure as I was headed for sound check. Let's pick up the action out front of the 3ten/Austin City Live. Here's me, Mike, and my uke.

We were a little early for our sound check and watched the Elvis band finishing up theirs.

They had a big band, two guitars, two female backup singers, keys, bass, drums, and four horns. The horn players were local cats hired just to show up and read the book. They didn't even soundcheck with the rest of the band. Mike, John, and I stash our instruments in the nicely appointed green room just off stage right.

On the wall was my favorite quote about the music business.

I stuck my head out of the green room as the Elvis band was finishing up. 

I had met the FOH guy earlier, Matt. Dave and John were getting acquainted.

This was the birthday cake. The 80 year old birthday boy is Jim Bob Moffett. He's a somewhat controversial figure who made his fortune mining copper and other materials all over the world. You can Google him if you want.

He graduated from UT on a football scholarship and was also a singer and did his own Elvis impersonation back in the day. Anyway, here's the view from the stage as we start our sound check. It will be an intimate performance for family and friends.

John brought one of his keyboards, the one he uses for the harmonica sound, and had the rest of his rig furnished by the backline company.

All Dave brought was his stick bag.

I brought only my Carvin. I was hoping for a big amp but I suppose this one will do. It's the venerable GK 800RB and a couple of SWR cabs.

That lefty bass was for the guy in the Elvis band. He's a nice guy and plays really well. After our sound check we went back upstairs to change for our photo shoot.

While we were taking pictures a small crowd gathered to take pictures of us getting our picture taken. One lady wanted a picture of Willie with her little baby.

Here's another I took with my phone. I didn't get any of the whole band. Maybe Mrs. Drummer will share later.

Then it was time to start the party. A small marching band of UT alumni started off the shindig by playing a few rousing marches.

As we waited to go on the other guys from the Elvis band started to arrive. It got a little cozy in that green room.

The King and Willie. This is the "old" Elvis, the Hawaii come-back concert Elvis. There was also a younger Ed Sullivan Show Elvis.

We're about to walk onstage for our set. A hush falls over the crowd as we check our tuning. There was a video playing just before we started. We had to wait until the video was over.

I snuck just a few photos during our set. This is what the back of Willie's hair looks like.

Mike played great tonight.

Johnny was playing all the sounds.

We had one short 45 minute set. Then another speech while the next act got set up. It started with the young Elvis.

I listened to the first few tunes of the set. Meanwhile, in the greenroom, there were BBQ ribs and things waiting for us. There is no bad BBQ in Austin!

The "old" King and I grab a picture before he goes on. This Elvis tribute is based in Chicago and travels the world doing their show. They are quite polished.

I came, I played, I ate. Now it was time to hit the town. I started hoofing it down 6th street to find the Dirty Dog where my friend James is playing tonight. I'm not sure why these carriages were here but they were lovely.

As I crossed Brazos I noticed the street was closed to vehicular traffic so folks could walk around unimpeded, by vehicles anyway.

This experience was very similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. There was live music in a bar on just about every block, lots of busking, lots of drinking, lots of everything. This place, called Jack's, had a great little country band that played everything from Jerry Reed to very cool honky tonk swing.

I found the Dirty Dog and listened to Hell Yeah and the Maybes.

They played a good selection of rock tunes from the 70s-90s and James sounded like Rober Plant at times. Fun stuff.

I enjoyed a couple of nice Porters and excused myself. This has got to be the most unusual decor I've ever seen in a mens room.

Jimmy and I have a selfie at the end of the night. I chatted with his band and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Then I set out in search of Voodoo Donuts. The crowds here were large and lively all up and down the street.

I walked past the donut shop and had to backtrack, but I found it.

As recommended, I picked a pastry called "Old Dirty Bastard". It looked like crumbled Oreo cookies with chololate and peanut butter sauces.

On my way back to The W, I ran into John. We decided to take a pedal taxi in search of pizza.

We tried not to show how terrified we were.

This is our driver, David (or was it Gerald?), who took us to "the" late night pizza place.

Our driver too us to The Onion for a late night pizza snack. He said we got here before they got really busy. Usually there's a line out the door down the block.

John and I enjoyed our pizza right there on the sidewalk.

Then we walked back to The W, finished the beer I had in my 'fridge, got a few hours sleep, and headed downstairs to meet our car back to the airport.

While I was waiting for the rest of the crew I enjoyed the decor of the different rooms in The W.

At 10:30am our car picked us up and we were on our way home.

Our driver said the airport was crowded because everyone was trying to get out of Dodge. Meh, this ain't so bad.

We all made our flight home. John and I had a bit of a crowded commute back from LAX.

While we drove home, our 'True Willie' texted us this picture. I guess he found his "Willie Spot".

 

And thus ends another episode in the adventures of the True Willie Band. We have another fly date next month back to Feather Falls Casino. But there will be plenty of other ANB gigs and at least one more TW gig between now and then.

This weekend was a blast. Thanks to everyone who recommended stuff to do, see, and eat while I was in Austin. I saw an Ironworks BBQ but didn't get a chance to eat there. Perhaps next time. I'd also like to see the Bat Bridge at sunset. I hear that's a sight to behold. Until next time, thanks for looking! 

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff