The Ranch, 8/16-17/19

Hello bass brothers and sisters,

This is our monthly weekend at The Ranch for Arnie Newman's Country Club Band. We debuted a couple of Amanda's songs from her album. They could've gone better but we'll work out the kinks tonight.

Surprisingly, there were no major accidents or traffic snarls on Friday afternoon as I made my way into the OC.

I arrived in the midst of a full mosh pit of setup. Johnny's keys were all over. Arnie was performing surgery on his pedal board. Jason was make sure his drums worked. They did. Jed was setting up his Kemper unit. All I had to do was plug in my bass so I waited for the fray to settle.

I was hear so early that the barstools were still upside down. That's good. We were able to run a couple of new tunes before doors opened.

Hey! I know those guys! A couple of big screens let the audience know all the happenings.

After sound check we settled into the green room for supper. I had my favorite meal, the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and Heirloom Beet Salad. It's gourmet stuff.

While we sup, Dev is teaching a beginning two-step class. It's fun stuff.

Looky here! Johnny Magic Fingers is tinkling the accordion that the owner purchased for the backline. Johnny's really good at that thing. It comes in handy for the Flaco solo when the owner sings "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down". Since Andrew like to sing the vintage country, I start off the night with my Fender JBS.

I think John is really happy he gets to show off his new toy. It's on a wireless mic so he can stand up front and center for his solo.

Here's the front line. Well I'll be!, Amanda is singing a sassy girl song. "Let's go girls!"

Jason was quite tasty and played with some finesse tonight. I had to compliment him. It made the night more fun.

The mad scientist at work. When Jed sang "On The Road Again" Johnny pulled out his harmonica patch. It really does sound great.

We're having fun now! Amanda and Arnie pose for me during the intro.

The lovely Melanie visits with the band. Here's a "Beauty and the Beast and the Steel player" picture.

Our DJ Leo plays all the favorite line dances while we're on a break. We play a few line dances too.

Oh look, here's Melanie again, dancing in front of her favorite bass player.

Arnie is fracturing some lyrics and having a good time.

On my way home I stopped to pick up one of my favorite Lagunitas brews. Then I discovered a leftover can of Garage Mango Hefeweizen. I couldn't decide so I drank both.

It was a light crowd at the club tonight. Our last set was a "power 20". I find it a bit odd because seventy five patrons at the end of the night in just about any other bar would be a pretty good crowd. I heard tonight (Saturday) is sold out, all the tables and booths are reserved, so it should be a jumpin' joint.

I took a few pictures of my Saturday night adventures at The Ranch. It was a not-too-fun commute down the 57 freeway on Saturday evening.

There was not one, but two accidents on the 57 freeway between me and The Ranch. It doubled my commute time. I'm glad I left the house a little early.

I was still the first to arrive. My trusty Fender Kingman ABG was waiting patiently in the green room for me to run some tunes.

But first I ordered supper from the band menu with my name on it.

I had the four chicken tenders with a chopped kale salad. I didn't eat all my fries, my jeans are getting too tight.

It's a great crowd in the club tonight. Our DJ Leo is playing the last line dance before we hit.

Johnny had donned his weapon of mass destruction but Arnie is not scared.

It was a really fun night. Jed is playing more of his electric guitar now. He's actually a really good guitar player and vocalist. It'll be great when he finds his niche in the band.

Oh yeah, Jed was singing "Keep Your Hands To Yourself". It's along guitar intro. That's why I'm taking pictures now.

I grabbed a picture of Bam Bam.

And one of Johnny Magic Fingers.

Here's a view of the front line from the back line.

The lovely Ms. Amanda Kate hasn't taken a selfie with me all weekend. We remedy that situation right now.

And then we play our last set. Since it was such a good crowd we played right up til the bitter end.

I think Amanda is giving Arnie a dirty look because he is tuning in the middle of her song.

After the end of the performance the band begins the tear down parade as the DJ plays out the night.

And so ends another weekend at our regular haunt, our home base, our main honky tonk, that fine joint known as The Ranch, where we play one weekend every month plus private parties and special showcases several times a year. It's a great performance venue.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back with gigs at the Canyon Cowboy, a Yorba Linda park concert, Downtown Disney, and Knott's Berry Farm over the next week. Feel free to check the calendar at the ANB website: https://arnienewman.com/calendar


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff 

Laguna Festival of Arts, 8/14/19 with True Willie

Hi gang,

This is an annual event for the True Willie Band. We played the Laguna Festival of Arts just a couple weeks ago. We always play twice during the run of the festival. For that reason I'll just give you a quick rundown of the gig last night, always fun, always a good crowd.

There was a bad accident on the 57 headed through Orange County. I'm glad Johnny had called to let me know. I was able to take alternate routes and make it there just a few minutes after our scheduled call time. Johnny Magic Fingers and Guitar Mike were well into the setup samba when I rolled on stage.

This is a lovely venue. I didn't get a chance to wander around and look at the actual art. Maybe next time.

Drummer Dave arrives and joins the fray. You can see Mrs. Drummer Dave and Mrs. BassCliff chatting on the far side of the stage.

Our soundman, Sid, is trying something to let T-Willie hear himself better. We'll see how this works.

It turns out that since these monitors are not "phase compensated" he was not able to use four of them, only three. But TW could hear himself very, very well. Now Sid and his crew, Chris, are working on the drum mics.

Guitar Mike brought his Mesa amp tonight. I think it's much lighter than his vintage Fender.

We sang a single a cappella chorus for our sound check and we were done. Sid just pulled up our show settings from last time. The board remembers. It looks like the stage is set. We're headed off to the green room.

The crowd is starting to fill in.

Here's a look back at the stage from the far end of the seating.

Our green room is actually the large conference room for the facility. It's very nice, and cool.

They always put out a nice spread of snacks and drinks, pita, hummus, fruit, cheese, salami, granola bars, chips, pretzels, cookies, coffee, etc. But no beer.

We put on our cowboy clothes and take the stage. It's a good looking crowd this evening.

Drummer Dave was very tasty tonight, and he played well too. He was so quiet I don't think he even needed that shield.

Guitar Mike was on his vintage ES335.

Someone had asked about Mike's effects. This is it, just one Vox multi-effect pedal gets the job done. He said he uses only about a dozen effects in the library of about 80 effects in this pedal.

I think John really enjoys playing on that Yamaha Avant Grand. I'm glad he doesn't want to haul one around to the gig all the time. He's got quite enough gear already.

One of the event staff offered to take a picture of the band. I was kind of afraid it would turn out like this, with a mic stand blocking someone. Poor Johnny.

Then the man of the hour hits the stage. The band was on fire, smooth, dynamic, balanced, and having a ton of fun.

We played a ninety minute set plus a couple of encores and left them wanting more. I guess that's a good thing.

Then we had our usual meet-and-greet before loading out. The drive home was even worse than the drive down here. The 57 freeway was closed again due to an overturned tanker. We took and alternate route that also had an accident that slowed traffic to a crawl. But we finally made it.

Coming up next, I'll be at The Ranch with Arnie and his gang. You can always logon to the Live Stream and heckle us from the comfort of your own computer chair if you like. Thanks for looking! Break a leg!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff