Hey howdy hey!
It's our monthly weekend at The Ranch here in beautiful downtown Anaheim. Unfortunately Amanda will not be with us this weekend and may miss a few gigs in the future due to family matters. So Jed's wife, Claire, will be joining us hairy legged pickers.
I'm fortunate that I can take off early from work to make our load-in time. The stadium project across the street from my office is coming along nicely. The parking structure and other ancillary construction will not be ready in time for the grand opening next month but we should be able to have our big annual track meet in the facility. (Note: The stadium's Grand Opening has also been postponed.)
Arnie could not hear very well for some reason this Friday night. We were jumping through hoops trying to make him happy. Mark (our soundman) set up baffles all around John's keyboard speakers. I actually got to use one of the bass amps in the back line, just enough for Arnie to hear something on stage. Poor Mark didn't like that much. I don't need an amp on that stage and I trust Mark to make it sound good out front. It's a little more work for me but I just try to make everyone happy. I usually end up just horking off everyone. (I think that is the bass player's lot in life.)
After sound check we retired to the green room. I enjoyed my usual, a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich sans the bun tonight, along with my favorite Heirloom Beet Salad.
The crowd started off a little light tonight but it got busier close to downbeat. There are some other things happening in town, Blake Shelton and others.
Johnny Magic Fingers is ready to play all the sounds on his four keyboards.
Jed and Claire are making last minute adjustments. Everyone except John uses IEMs.
It's a good line dance crowd tonight.
Here's my selfie just before we crank it up. I started the night with my new Carvin PB5 and then played the third set on my LB76.
Hey! Look who's back! It's our friends Kathy and Stephanie. I haven't seen these ladies in a while.
Everyone's favorite real estate agent, Tammi, was in tonight too but I didn't get a picture. Wait, Arnie did.
Claire geeks the camera while Jed sings an intro to "Keep Your Hands To Yourself".
Yes, that's Daniel on the fiddle over there. None of our steel players were available this week. Sometimes I think John wishes he had four arms.
Arnie and Jason are doing their guitar and drum thing.
We did play a short fourth set due to the light crowd. On my way home I stopped at the 7-11 down the street and noticed a Lagunitas brew that I hadn't tried. It turns out that it's a limited release Lucky 13 Ultra-Mega-Mondo Red Ale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this brew! It's light and crisp with hints of malt, caramel, apple, berries, not sweet but not bitter, and quite refreshing despite the 8.8% ABV. I highly recommend these suds. According to the website it's a seasonal brew available Jan-March of the year. I actually wrote them an email and encourage them to make it available all the time. The response I got basically said my request would be heard by the "higher ups". I guess that's something. Maybe they don't know I'm the bass player.
We're back at The Ranch again Saturday. Let's see how much fun we had....
Hello err'body!
Saturday night was a good night! Since I had left all my stuff set up from the night before I didn't have to do a thing but let Johnny Magic Fingers drive me to the gig and then order my supper. I had the Chicken Tenders and a Chopped Kale Salad, Bill's favorite! Not! And, of course, my BANG energy drink.
This is John's fortress around his keyboards. It was put up to block sound from his speakers on the floor but it actually did a great job at hiding all the cable mess from his rig.
You see my iPad that I use to mix my IEMs there sitting on those baffles. I generally don't have to tweak much but it's nice to have handy just in case. We had a great crowd in the place tonight.
This is the first break when I went to the bar for a martini. DJ Leo kept the dance floor full.
Our good friend Rob and his wife Suzie were in the club tonight. You might remember Rob and Suzie from the house concerts that they sometimes host.
It's been a while, so before we started this set, I took a "Beauty and The Beast and the bass player" picture featuring the lovely Claire.
Ha! I caught Claire and Jed taking a selfie.
This is toward the end of the night but the line dancers were still out in force.
I think we are just about to start the last set. It was a fun set. Arnie had just bought me a shot of tequila. It's a good thing I don't have to drive home.
What's up with this guy? Jason seems too serious. We're having fun!
Yep, definitely the last set. We're just enjoying ourselves.
I don't know what's going on here. I'm just taking pictures. Jed, Daniel, and Jason.
I think Claire enjoyed herself this weekend.
Then again, maybe not. (Just kidding.)
Jed and Claire sing a song that they wrote. We did a few of their originals tonight.
Jed and Daniel put on the show.
John is having fun behind inside his fortress of solitude.
At then end of the night, since John drove us, I helped him load up his gear and put it in his car.
My weekend did not suck. I hope your weekend did not suck too. The following Saturday we had a private party out at a golf club in Palm Springs. That wouldn't suck either but it was the first of our gigs to be cancelled due to California's 'stay-at-home' order. I've been working my day job at home too. We are hoping and praying that life can get back to a semblance of normality towards the end of May or the beginning of June, God willing.
Until then, thanks for looking at my electrons. You guys are great.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
