The True Willie Band and I are at the Alhambra Dinner Theater in Jacksonville to do seven shows in five days. In addition to True Willie we'll also be backing a Reba McEntire tribute artist, Corrie Sachs. This is only sightly nerve-wracking because her husband, Bob Sachs, has also accompanied her on this trip. He is a monster bass player and a really nice guy. I'm hoping to have time to take a lesson from him while we're here.
(Note: The 15th and the 21st were travel days.) The show actually opens tomorrow and runs Wednesday through Sunday night. Today was a day of travel and consumption. It began with me loading up Big Betsy and picking up Johnny Magic Fingers at 4am so we could make our way down to the Orange County Airport. I keep it simple when I fly, just my suitcase, my bass case, and a backpack.
Here we are at the OC airport after leaving Big Betsy at an off site long term parking facility. John travels with a carry-on (his sound module), a personal item, his suitcase, and a keyboard. We flew Delta and had to pay $70 each for our checked baggage. What a rip.
Hey! Look at that! The rest of the band decided to make the flight too, Guitar Mike, Drummer Dave, and TW himself.
One nice thing about Delta is their built-in entertainment. The seatback screens have tons of movies, serial TV, and sports to choose from. I used my IEMs to plug into the seatback and enjoy an Alan Jackson concert and an X-Men movie. I think John enjoyed the same movie. We both like super heroes.
We made a quick connection in Atlanta before moving on to Jax. We had only thirty minutes between landing and boarding. I was worried our instruments would not make the transfer but they did. Thank you Delta.
Are we there yet? Dave and John wait on the gantry to board the plane from Atlanta.
It looks like we are somewhere different now. We landed safely in Jacksonville and picked up our luggage. This time our instruments came through with the regular baggage. Usually the handlers pull it out because it's oversized a bit and looks like firearm cases. Maybe they know who we think we are.
I thought this was a fitting banner at the baggage claim.
Rick, our handler from the venue, picked us up and took us to our hotel. Here are a few shots along the way. There is lots of water around here.
This is one of the bridges over the St. Johns River. Did you know that the St. Johns river is one of only two rivers in the US that flow in a northern direction?
I think that is downtown Jacksonville off in the distance.
This is Mill Cove.
We arrive at our hotel and find lovely accommodations. I'm on the fourth floor of this five story facility.
Out of my window I have a lovely view of the condos next door.
Since I'm going to be here a week I got unpacked, moved in, and made myself at home.
The first order of business? Beer. Next door is Ruby Tuesday where we enjoy drinks and appetizers during happy hour. They had the Sam Adams Octoberfest on draught at two-for-one prices.
John and I enjoyed the mozzerella sticks and artichoke dip with our beverages. It'll be enough to tide us over until supper.
We made our way back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the crew and head out for an evening repast.
We all piled into our rental van and TW drove us to our favorite seafood place here in Jacksonville, Safe Harbor. The last time we were here, after a huge hurricane, the roads were so flooded that we were a little worried about getting in and out. We had no trouble tonight.
This place likes to display its catch of the day along with its choice of beer.
It's always hard to decide what to eat here. It's all great.
I hope Bill appreciates that I took pictures of everybody's supper. It was all great. John had blackened scallops and greens, hush puppies and cole slaw.
Dave had the crab cake melt. It looked really good.
Dave wasted no time.
Mike ordered the blackened scallops and fried shrimp. French fries, slaw, and hush puppies are pretty standard with every meal.
TW had a big hunk of grilled salmon, cole slaw, and salad. He skipped the french fries and hush puppies. TW has to fit into his wig tomorrow.
Since I hadn't eaten all day, I had a triple combo of calamari, blackened scallops, and fried shrimp with all the sides plus a cucumber and tomato salad.
With supper I tried the Yuengling lager, a Pennsylvania brew which seems to be really popular around here. I was not really impressed with this beer. I think I would like to try their Black and Tan product. This lager did not have enough body for my tastes. My calamari came complete with little tentacles. This batch was fried up just right.
Just to show you why this place is named "Safe Harbor" I took a picture in front of the boat ramps right next to the restaurant. There is water on three sides of this place.
Then we all piled back into the rental and went back to our rooms, fat and happy. I walked next door to the gas station/convenience store and picked up some vital supplies, snacks and beer. The Icehouse Edge came in four-packs of 16oz cans and looked interesting with its 8% proudly displayed on every can. So I tried it.
It turns out this is a malt liquor from Miller brewing company. As someone mentioned in a review, it's decent cheap malt liquor. It will never be one of my favorites. Is there a good local Florida beer?
Tomorrow we are going to setup about 11am at the venue and probably run most of both shows. Then we'll have time to come back to our rooms to rest and freshen up before opening night. We are looking forward to a fun week.
I forgot to mention, because I have to learn another show while I'm here in Jacksonville I needed a way to practice material for another CD release party just two days after I get back from this trip. I decided to invest (less than) $50 in this Vox amPlug 2 for bass and I really like it. I'm able to plug in my IEMs and the audio output from my computer to play along with the material I'm learning. Sure, most of the nine built-in drum tracks are not really usable but the metronome feature is handy. There might be a little hiss but it's not really noticeable while you're playing, or if you use one of the lower gain settings, or just turn down the tone knob. It's a cheap, handy device that serves a purpose. I'm glad I bought it.
I figured I'd be using it a lot this week so I brought along extra AAA batteries. It sounds pretty dang good with my active Carvin LB76 (set on the medium gain setting) playing into my KZ KS10 Pro IEMs.
And now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.
I began Wednesday morning with breakfast. I usually don't eat breakfast during the week but I knew I wouldn't get lunch today. This Hampton Inn serves breakfast until 10am. I made it to the lobby/dining area at 9:30.
Since I had a big supper last night I just had a little protein and some fruit. The omelette was a little salty but otherwise edible.
Then we piled into the rental and made our way to the stage door just five miles away.
When we walked on stage we found FOH Andrew already there wringing out the EQ in the monitors. We threw a lot of things at Andrew (well, everybody but the bass player) and he handled them all very well.
I was pleased with their choice of backline for me.
Johnny's backline is very similar to his normal rig. He did bring his special "harmonica sound" keyboard and his sound module.
OK gang, who wants to set up and plug in? Dave does!
Since it takes me ninety seconds to set up I let the other guys take their turns bugging Andrew and I wandered around taking pictures for you. Backstage has a lot of posters, pictures, and other memories.
Down the hallway are dressing rooms and stars on the wall. Let me see if I can find my star.
Look at that! BassCliff was here.
Let's continue our tour by stepping out front of the venue.
The exterior is not flashy but has a quiet class. I'll get a picture of the fountain out front later. (Ooops, I never did. Sorry.)
Here we are in the lobby. To get to the theater you'll go down the hall either way on the other side of the host desk.
While we're here, let's have a picture in front of the venue logo screen. I'm sure my buddy Dave in Connecticut will be glad to see me representing The Redhead Nation here in Florida. He's the bass player in that band.
Here's Andrew at his desk doing his thing. He's just inside the rear door on the stage right side of the room.
Perhaps you can see him up there in the corner in this view from the dance floor.
Here's the view from the FOH desk.
And from the back of the room, center.
I wonder if they're ready for my one note soundcheck. It looks like Dave is just about adjusted. He's got a nice pearl DW kit for his backline. My rig is ready to go. Yes, my rig was mic'd and DI'd. With Bob Sachs in the room my bass had better sound great.
This is Dave's monitor rig. Wow, he's got half of a PA back there.
Dave did a good job giving this kit a quick tune-up. He said all of the heads had been recently replaced but all the toms were tuned high like a jazz kit. We're just playing country music.
Mike is one of the few guitarists who won't hurt you with a Twin Reverb. It's a nice backline amp.
TW asks Mike about that chord.
Our monitors are DAS audio. I'm not really familiar but I think they sound pretty great.
You see John trying to get his gear configured without buzz or hiss. The array next to him is new on the room, from Turbosound. They also use those speakers that are hanging on the wall plus other satellite speakers strategically placed around the room.
Corrie and I visit while John and Dave and the soundman, Andrew, get their issues resolved.
We ran Corrie's show to refresh our cues, check count-offs and tempos, etc. Debbie is joining us again to sing harmony and a duet with Corrie.
In front of TW's face you see the program for our show. I've heard that we've already sold more tickets than we did the last time we played this room. It should be a good week.
While we were sound checking we heard what sounded like torrential rain. When we walked outside after rehearsal the skies were beautiful. I guess if you don't like the weather here just wait fifteen minutes.
We make our way back at our rooms to rest up and get refreshed. I've stocked up on energy drinks and I'm looking forward to the menu at the dinner theater. I'll be glad to get this show started. Yay band!
Here are some highlights from opening night. As I went downstairs to meet the rest of the band this sign on the elevator door seemed like an omen. Hmmm, will things be cray-cray tonight? (Yes, being a Louisiana boy, I've eaten crawdads.)
After arriving at the venue I perused the menu. Guess what I had for supper opening night.
Right after I finished my salad, my local bass buddy, Mike, stopped by the band table to say "Hi". Terrific! Mike, you are a gentleman and a scholar and an all-around good egg. But don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I don't want to ruin your bad reputation.
After the salad, I had (did you guess?) the Sausage Creole over Catfish with Baked Cheese Grits. Oh my! I enjoyed the grits just as much as I enjoyed the catfish. I really felt I was at my childhood home with a meal like this.
After supper we had to get on stage before dessert. We had our server put our desserts in a box but, drat!, I forgot mine and left it in our dressing room. Balderdash. Anyway, we take the stage as Craig makes announcements. Mike takes this time to tune.
Johnny Magic Fingers is ready to put on the show.
I think Dave is feeling sort of peaceful just before he counts off Reba's first number.
The Reba set went really well, except for my caffeinated/fatigued/opening night/no-beer-yet brain farts. It seems I was missing my licks by just one fret. Oh well, tomorrow night will be right on. Here's a picture from backstage during our break after the Reba set.
Here is The True Willie Band just about to take the stage at 9:15pm.
Dave took a picture of me just seconds before we start the TW set.
It seemed the crowd really enjoyed our set. At least they didn't throw anything at us. After the show we all met out front in the lobby for some meet-and-greet.
After all the noise died down I talked the band into taking a picture. We had a fun opening night. That's Debbie next to Reba/Corrie. She did a bang-up job tonight, as always. I found out that she now has a Linda Ronstadt tribute project that is doing really well. I'll bet she's great at the Linda stuff.
Once we got back to our rooms, I was able to enjoy the hospitality that Mike provided for me this evening. I met John and Dave down by the pool and we enjoyed some Duke's Brown Ale and some Bell Cow Milk Chocolate Porter.
Mike, thank you for your generosity. This was quite a treat for me. The Bell Cow goes down easily with a strong chocolate flavor and a bit of almond in the finish, almost like eating a Hershey with almonds, but lighter than other porters. The Duke's is a decent ale but is just a little too bitter to be one of my favorites. Don't worry, I'll just chill it well and enjoy it all this week. Earlier in the day I had picked up a sixer of Sam Adams Octoberfest. (I've never tried a Sam I didn't like.) So thanks to Mike I've got enough beer to last me all week.
Anyway, so far so good. Oh, and I gotta tell you, Bob Sachs complimented me on my singing, but not my playing. Oh well.
Here are a bunch of pictures that Mike took from his vantage point in the audience.
Just a couple of quick pictures from today. I slept really late, missed breakfast and the trip to the arboretum and didn't get outta bed until 2pm. Then because I was feeling pretty sluggish I went downstairs to the gym.
I did a mile and a half on the cross-country machine. Then I remembered to turn on the A/C in the gym. It was 80 degrees in there.
Then to cool down I did another two miles on that recumbent bicycle you see in front of me.
I ran through the show using my headphone amp and a video from the show two years ago. Now it's time to shower up, get caffeinated, and head out to the venue at 6:14pm.
It's kind of weird playing along to myself, but whatever. After running the show I put on my cowboy clothes and headed downstairs to meet the crew at the appointed time of 6:14pm. Since I hadn't eaten all day I helped myself to a couple of chocolate chip cookies the hotel offers as hospitality along with a few urns of coffee.
We piled in the rental mini-van, a Dodge, and made our way to the stage door in back of the venue.
Guitar Mike and Johnny Magic Fingers join me for supper. I am enjoying one of the local energy drinks called 'Reign'. You have to be eighteen years old to buy this stuff so I guess it's pretty potent.
The folks here treat us so well. The owners even have some specialty cocktails named after the show. Tomorrow I think I'm going to try either the Fancy's Martini or the Whiskey River.
This is the view from the band table. You can see the performers on the stage much better since they replaced the big column of "traditional" speakers with the skinny TurboSound line array speakers.
Tonight I had the chicken. It was a huge piece of chicken, moist, and the gravy was tasty. It seems the folks around here really like their salt. I've gotten out of the habit of salting my food but this stuff, even though it tastes great, makes my fingers swell up.
After supper we consult with Corrie/Reba to work out how we can tighten up the show and then Mike and I hit the stage.
Gary, one of the owners, greets the audience, talks about upcoming shows, wishes everyone a happy birthday or anniversary, and then lets us do our thing.
While Gary is doing his thing, I do my thing and take pictures of the band. Here is Guitar Mike and Drummer Dave.
It seems Johnny Magic Fingers has his own column of light.
Gary unknowingly photobombs my selfie. That guy has lost seventy pounds since we were here two years ago.
Dave took a picture of the bass player, bathed in light.
I managed to sneak a picture of Reba while she was chatting up the crowd between songs. Nice jacket. She says she got it at Cracker Barrel, where you can eat, and shop, and eat, and shop.
During the last song of Reba's set I start to hear a "thunk, thunk, thunk" from the snare drum. The trap tightening lever on the snare drum had broken. Dave had twenty minutes to fix it. I got out my tools and flashlight and stood back while he went to work. He got it done in time and we were able to start the True Willie show right on schedule.
I was able to sneak a picture of True Willie while he chatted up the audience.
The audience liked us, again. Two nights in a row. Unbelievable. After the show we hustled out front for the meet-and-greet.
While Willie and Reba were meeting and greeting, the rest of us decided to take advantage of the empty bar.
After we said goodnight to all of our friends we made our way out the stage door to our minivan. TW says to us, "Tomorrow night we're going to go in a different direction."
I'll let you know how that works out.
Once I got back to my room, thanks to Mike, I was able to enjoy a Bell Cow Milk Chocolate Porter with my midnight snack.
This was a pretty great day. I got to sleep late, work out, eat good, play a fun show, and enjoy some tasty beer.
Friday night was a huge success. But before Friday night was Friday morning. I met most of the gang downstairs for breakfast about 9:30. I helped myself to more protein, fruit, and yogurt. The salsa on the omelettes makes all the difference.
I hung around the room all day working on learning material for the Kevin Click CD release party this coming Wednesday at The Ranch. Then I checked my stash before I left. Looks like we've got plenty of suds for the after party.
TW left me in charge of driving part of the crew to the venue this evening. Guitar Mike and Bob Sachs join me in the minivan. Everyone else is coming a little bit later because they are not eating at the theater.
As we pull into the parking lot I'm a little worried about finding a parking spot. It's going to be a good crowd tonight.
Tonight I pay a little tribute to my friend Chris and his band, The Fab 8. I wore their t-shirt under my Scully.
I'm just going down the menu so tonight it was time for me to try the roast beef. It was a great tasting cut of meat after trimming the fat. The horseradish sauce was killer. I like lima beans.
The only thing left on the menu is the Vegan "Meat" Balls. I don't know. We'll see. I might have the Creole catfish again. It was pretty dang good.
This evening I was pleased to meet another local bass player, Bruce, who came out to see the show, also bearing gifts. Bruce, it was a pleasure meeting you and Mrs. Bruce. I enjoyed chatting for the short time we had.
As usual, just before we start the show I take a round of pictures. I started with Bruce and his wife sitting on my side of the stage. I'd better play good.
Mike checks his tuning while Dave adjusts his microphone.
Johnny Magic Fingers is ready to tickle the ivories, or the plastic, whatever the case may be.
Then we play Reba's opening and start the show. I snapped another picture from my perspective while Reba chatted up the audience.
On the other side of Mike is the lovely Ms. Debbie Rider. She was featured in a few songs this evening. I mentioned earlier that she has her own Linda Ronstadt tribute show but I forgot to mention that, back in the day, she toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd for three years.
When "Reba" and Debbie sing "Does He Love You" they both step out front and get rather dramatic. It's a fun bit.
After the Reba show, during the intermission, John and I decide that we need an adult beverage. I enjoyed a Fancy's Martini and John had a Corona.
Here's a shot of the room from the back corner opposite the FOH. I noticed only about three tables that were empty, not quite sold out. But the owner was very, very pleased anyway.
Then is was time to start the True Willie show on a Friday night. This is my twin brother, Drummer Dave.
Dave took a picture of me in front of the crowd. We didn't even care that we were wearing the same shirt, even though nobody could tell us apart.
As True Willie tells us about one of the songs he never recorded ("I'm So Miserable Since You Left, It's Almost Like Having You Here) I took a picture from the bass player perspective.
Then after the show it was meet-and-greet time. The crowd was ever so friendly. Mike takes a picture of Reba with Dave.
Then I tried to take a selfie with other fans who wanted a picture with the whole band.
After meet-and-greet was done I met Bruce at the stage door. Like I said, he came bearing gifts.
Look at that! Bruce had stopped by the best donut place in Jacksonville, The Donut Shoppe, and picked up a dozen for us. Hmm, it looks like some of the band has already helped themselves to the goodies. These really are great. Thank you very, very much Bruce.
I also brought home my desert from the theater. This carmel apple pie goes great with Sam Adams Octoberfest. After this I'm going to enjoy a donut with my Bell Cow Milk Chocolate Porter.
We have four more shows left, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Then we are leaving early Monday afternoon. So it's going to be a couple of long days for us. You've seen just about all there is to see. I'm sorry I didn't get out to go exploring much this time. Maybe tomorrow night I'll hit the town with Johnny and see what kind of trouble we can get in.
Let me see if I can get this shindig wrapped up in the next couple of posts. With four shows in the last two days (eight shows if you count Reba and Willie separately) it's all been a blur. I'm pretty sure I started off Saturday morning with a late breakfast. This hotel does a fair job with its free breakfast.
A little later we made our way to the theater for the matinee show, downbeat at 1:15pm. Then the evening show was the regular 7:50pm downbeat. I also took along "Whiskey Karma", my friend Jordy's band. Hey Jordy! I hope you guys are still gigging!
While I was there this evening I went ahead and updated my star on the hallway wall.
This is our Reba setlist. There are a couple of challenging tunes on this list.
Here's a quick picture of Corrie as Reba.
In between shows John and I try the Fancy's Martini on the specialty drink menu. It's pretty tasty, but it's not a "real" martini.
Mike and Dave are ready to start the Willie portion of the show.
What a goof ball.
Roger as Willie. It's pretty dang fun.
For the matinee we had some special visitors. Drummer Dave's granddaughter and her family drove up to see the show and visit. They are here in Florida a couple of hours south.
I guess it's a good thing I don't use much makeup.
Reba, Mike, and Debbie.
John has been playing his tuches off this week. His boogie-woogie number got a standing ovation on Sunday night.
Willie says, "Ya know, this band has been following me around for 40 years and they're really good. I wish I could remember their names."
Then after the show John and I wanted to get out and hear some live music. We googled this place just a couple of miles down the street and called for a Lyft driver.
We were there in time to have a couple and catch the last set of Highway Jones. They were billed as mostly Southern Rock but I recognized only a couple of their tunes, something from the Beastie Boys and another from Led Zepplin. They did one or two original tunes also. It was good rock music, loud enough to drink by. The guitar player is the father of the drummer and the bass player.
We invited them to our show but they couldn't make it. Cyndi let me take a selfie. Their bass player, Travis, was playing an Alvarez out of an Acoustic combo amp. Both he and his dad Tim were using small combo amps. They were loud but not too loud.
I tossed some money in the tip jar and they gave me one of their CDs with six of their original tunes. I haven't heard it yet. I don't have a CD player with me.
The next day was our last performance day in Jacksonville. We had a matinee at 1:50pm and an evening show at 7:50pm. You've seen all of this so I'm just going to hit the highlights. The matinee went better than the evening show. We were all pretty dang tired but we powered through. Corrie has been fighting some kind of bronchial condition but you'd never be able to tell from her performances.
Another shot of the band to my right.
Here's a selfie of the band to my left.
Dave says this is day number five.
A fan talks to Mike just before we start the last Willie show.
Sunday night was the best crowd we had all week, really involved. They applauded after Mike and John would take a solo, they would sing along, and when we played "God Bless The U.S.A" (Lee Greewood) as our closer they all stood up and raised their hands.
Sure, he looks calm right now but let him loose on "Nightlife" and he'll tear it up.
After one of the shows, I think it was the Sunday matinee, I got stuck selling the CDs. I sold four or five.
True Willie and I are just about to hit the stage for our last Sunday night performance.
Afterwards we sat around for a bit snacking on TW's strawberry shortcake.
The backline guys were already clearing the stage. They start rehearsal for a play tomorrow. I had to hustle back and get my bass off of the stage.
And now I'm finishing up this evening with and snack and a Duke's Brown Ale.
I want to thank my new friends, Mike and Bruce, for your generosity and your hospitality. I know it's not cheap to come to this dinner show and both of you even brought gifts. I am deeply touched and honored.
Now it's all over but the shouting and the travel home. Next week I have a rehearsal on Tuesday, a show on Wednesday, and a corporate event on Saturday. Dang, I think I need a rest.
Bob Sachs and Corrie were great to work with, really nice people. I'm hoping to see Bob play at the Tuscony the next time I'm in Vegas at Gilley's. (Hey Andy, that's Bob's regular Sunday gig, right?)
Thanks for coming along with me on this trip. I'm sure we'll be back but I don't know when, hopefully the end of next summer instead of two years from now. I'll let you know.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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