Temple City, 7/1/20

My dear readers,

This past Wednesday was a lovely afternoon for a concert in the park, sans the audience and a large sound system. We played to a film crew and just a few spectators in the Temple City Park who had to stay behind the fence. This was the lovely pavilion in the park next to the town hall. Oh boy! Another gazebo gig! I've actually played on this gazebo before with the Kelly Rae Band. A couple other members of the band have played here before with other various projects.

We were scheduled to load-in at 2pm with soundcheck at 3pm for a 6pm downbeat. Johnny Magic Fingers, Jason, and I were a bit early arriving even before the sound and film crews.

There were just a few people in the park. The little playground and picnic area were closed to the public. Gov. Gruesome had just ordered everything locked down again. I'm a little surprised this event didn't get cancelled altogether.

But we were bound and determined to make some noise and have some fun. I mean, look at this lovely setting. It would have been grand under normal circumstances, even under that big soundwarp of a gazebo.

There was a nice memorial in the park. I am a red-white-and-blue patriot at heart and it brings me joy to see honor given where it's due.

I had parked on the street rather than in the parking lot by the city hall. The roll was a little shorter. The other guys pulled up to the other side of the stage to unload. I always try to park once and not move back and forth.

Here's another exciting picture of my gear after rolling it up to the stage to take in the view of Big Betsy waiting patiently on the street for me to finish my activities.

Arnie had called the organizer of this event because we were all here but there was no sign of a sound crew or film crew. Since it was not a big event both crews were minimal and it did not take them very long to set up. Plus, rather than waiting around until 6pm for downbeat we all decided to just get started as soon as soundcheck was done. But first we all had to fill out and sign these waivers from the city. We promised we were healthy and the organizer took our temperatures. Mine was 96.1ºF. Seems a little cool. I'd better have my thermostat checked.

The band is just about set up but the sound and film crew are just getting started. It was a little hard to get excited for this performance. I'm glad I brought my BANG! energy drink.

This is Walter, our FOH, and his view from the sound board. It's not a big rig today since the crew is more concerned with the video recording. There were only a couple of PA speakers on sticks, no subs, but five floor wedges with five mixes.

That's Carlos in the view from my mic. He was the sound tech on scene. Both of the sound crew were very helpful. They had to bring out power from the city hall because the power outlets in the gazebo were not working. What a hassle.

Here's Johnny Magic Mask during soundcheck. I wore my mask only when I could not physical distance from the crew.

As I was plugging my rig into the system I discovered that my direct out jack was busted. It would not hold the XLR cable. Drat. That's inconvenient. So I used the crew's DI box for my bass. When I turned on my amp it got a fault light. All it would do was fart occasionally. I tried different cables, different basses, etc, and determined that my "new" GK MB500 had developed a hardware error. So I put bass in my little 10" monitor as did everyone else who wanted to hear me. At least everyone else had 12" monitors. We all smiled and made the best of it. Amanda is always a joy to work with.

It's plugged in, but there are no electrons flowing. The amp isn't working either.

There were five cameras placed around us. Every once in a while I would look into the camera, wink, and blow a kiss. Hopefully I won't give the old ladies a fainting spell. Probably not. I've always heard that the camera adds ten pounds. Since there were five cameras on me, well....

I think we are just about to start here. Mrs. BassCliff said I must not have gotten the plaid shirt memo. I had the only Scully. I brought a plaid shirt. I was just not in a plaid mood.

I'm not sure what John is trying to communicate here, something about beer, I think.

The sound crew put cables everywhere. I guess it didn't have to look pretty. Even under the gazebo and without a bass amp, a certain drummer would not adjust to the situation. That's why Arnie covered the kick drum. But that just gives him an excuse to hit harder.

I'm ready for my close-up.

Here's the whole gang doing our best to have a good show. It was not one of my better performances. At least not very many people will see it. (Ha!)

The crew said Temple City will stream this show on their Facebook, Youtube, etc, social media outlets on the 8th of July. But the city's website says it will be released on the 15th of July. So I just don't know. Here's the link: Virtual Concert Series | Temple City, CA - Official Website

And Virtual Concert Series - The Country Club Band

It looks like the rest of the month is cancelled. I'm going to try my best to follow some friends examples and record some more music at home to share. I like doing some pickin' and grinnin'. I'm going over to Johnny's today to run some tunes. I'll probably pull out my cell phone and see what happens. Thanks for stopping by and having a look. Hang in there, my friends. Take care, be considerate, and we'll all get through this. God bless.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff