Valley View Casino, 2/18/18

Hello friends and neighbors,

I guess you could call them my "old band". The KRB and I played a regular haunt, the Valley View Casino, on a Sunday night. I was glad Kelly gave me a call when Alex was feeling under the weather. I still love all these guys and it's fun working with them. After church I loaded up two of my basses and my cowboy shirts.

For those of you in the mid-west and northeast, all that green stuff you see is grass. We don't have any of that white stuff around here. Sorry.

It's about an hour and a half drive to the gig. But it was a nice day for a drive and the traffic was pretty light.

Here's your sign. It just takes a while to get here.

The Valley View Casino is rather a prominent landmark up there on the hill.

I pulled into the entrance, wondering what kind of madness awaits me in the lounge.

I've unloaded my gear and I'm about to take it into the loading dock. But the security team has to check my bags first. They've very nice about it.

This is way they call it "Valley View" Casino.

I was first to arrive on stage and I found our friend, Bill, tuning up the V-drums. He usually does the soundman duties.

Here's some of Bill's PA stuff, with our iPhones plugged in and charging. We'll use those for our individual IEM mixes.

I don't think I have ever shared a picture of the stage monitors. They're used basically for a line check. There are no amps on stage and everyone is using IEMs (In-Ear-Monitors).

After I unloaded, got checked in, and put my stuff on stage I had to park my trusty Astro van. I've never had to park so far up the hill in the employee lot. They must have extra staff working the holiday weekend.

That's Gavin setting up Kelly's mic. Gavin is a hard working, more than affable fellow who does a great job.

Kelly and I take a "before" picture, before she puts on her lipstick and before I put on my cowboy shirt.

Hmmm, what shall we soundcheck with?

This is Art's new Line6 Helix pedal board. It's the first time he's ever used it on a gig. But it sounded great. He said he's had it for months but it took him a while to get through the manual well enough to program it and get proficient with using it in a live situation. Daniel also uses a Line6 pedal board but I don't know the model. I probably took a picture of it at some time.

Here's my iPhone with a mixer app, and my cheat sheet holder.

It looks like the gang's all here and we're about to open the curtain.

Kelly and I take a selfie. "We're getting the band back together!" Sort of.

 

Then it's time to open this curtain and throw some music at these people.

We had a pretty steady crowd all night. They decided to take a break from losing money and come see us. Whatta ya got to lose?

And we continue with the show. Here's Kelly singing "My Church".

Kelly notices I've got a camera pointed at her.

Yes, we repeat Daniel's song because it's so popular.

Then on a break we all visit the employee cafeteria.

Here was my supper tonight. I'm sorry if it's too healthy for my friend Bill. Broiled fish, salad, vegetables and beef, is some good eating!

Oh my! Just when I give up all deserts for Lent. These were 6 inches in diameter and looked wonderful.

There was a chocolate cake for us too. But I didn't touch it.

I think it's a simulated fossilized tree. We make our way back to the stage.

Just remember, when you walk these halls you are treading on the same linoleum as many has-beens and classic touring bands with only one original member. Here's our last set. Can you tell we're a country band?

Yeah, I guess so. But this band has a variety. Daniel sings his big hit one more time.

Mario manages to keep his cool, even on that set of V-drums.

Here's a couple of pictures from out front. Gavin was using Kelly's phone.

At 9pm we were done and it was time to load out.

This is one of the last sights you see as you leave the backstage load-in area.

And then I stop at the security station to get my CDL back in exchange for my guest pass badge.

There's a large fountain out front with an army of valet drivers.

After a short, 90 mile, drive home I am now able to bring this little report to your attention. It's only been a month since I played with the KRB but it seemed longer. We had fun. Except for during the last set.

Instead of plowing through our set list as planned, she decided to ask the audience what they wanted to hear. This one drunk guy at the bar had been screaming "Alabama!" Of course what he meant was "Sweet Home Alabama". So Kelly agreed to play it for him. Because I like that song sooo much, I forgot the second verse, I played it like an 8th grader, and I did it all with a smile. Not on purpose. It was just a "burned out, not feeling the vibe" kind of thing. (Note: If you just keep going through the set list, you don't have to give the audience a chance to request songs you don't know or don't want to do. You can entertain them without playing silly songs.) (My apologies to those of you who actually like playing SHA. I usually do a good job but just wasn't in the mood. So sue me.)

Thanks for looking! I'll be at The Ranch next week with the ANB. I'll be rehearsing with True Willie too. It'll be a busy week. Hopefully I can fit in my day job too.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff 

Old Crow Smokehouse, 2/16/18

Hello friends and neighbors,

It was another fun evening here on the left coast, near the beach, making noise and taking names. Me and the ANB played at the Old Crow Smokehouse in Huntington Beach on a Friday evening and a good time was had by all.

There was a HUGE wreck on the freeway east of me but since I was heading west and south there was not much trouble with my commute down to the OC. Not much.

The sunset made for a pretty drive, even through this traffic. It's usually tough getting down to the beach area, especially on a Friday night.

It was sticky only in a couple of spots. I made it to load-in time just as planned. I parked my trusty Astro van near the elevator on parking level one. (It's where all the cools kids hang out.)

I rolled my gear up and into the club to find everyone there ahead of me and almost set up. l'd better get a move on.

Actually, we don't start for a couple of hours. We still have time to eat and sound check. Here's a selfie in front of my rig. What a cool looking t-shirt. Don't you think, Jordy? This is a band in British Columbia, Whiskey Karma, of which I'm a fan. Jordy, the bass player, of course, sent me a t-shirt and I'm spreading the love.

Also, here's Arnies "Little Walter" next to my rig.

Jason brought his little Ludwig Questlove Breakbeats kit.

Johnny Fingers gets all of his keyboards plugged in. It's pretty tight on this stage even when we bring small gear.

Francelle is not here yet so we decide to have our supper while we have a few minutes before sound check. The food in this place is great.

I had a half pound of pulled pork, slaw, and baked beans. It really hit the spot.

Arnie had a burger. Jason and John has the combo platter with sausage, ribs, and brisket. Then Francelle arrived. After I helped get her gear upstairs she let me take a picture with my cool new t-shirt.

Here's a view of the bar as we prepare to sound check. This place gets good looking crowds.
 

This is John, our sound guy for the evening. It's tough to mix this room. I don't envy his job.

It looks like we're about to make some noise for sound check. Everybody is making sure they are functional and in tune.

Arnie and I are ready to bring in da funk and bring in da noise. It's a little awkward soundchecking in front of a full house, but we try to entertain while we do it.

We run about half of a couple of songs, the good half, and decide we are ready. It's time to put on my cowboy clothes and strike up the band.

I ran down to my trusty old Astro van to get my shirt and boots. I also picked up my fan for Johnny. He forgot to bring his so I let him use mine. Johnny gets warm on stage surrounded by all those keyboards, I guess. On the way back upstairs I snap a couple photos of the surroundings. Here's the front of the Old Crow taken from the big patio out front.

Across the street, Pacific Coast Highway, is the Pacific Ocean. You see Huntington Beach Pier jutting out from the shore.

Since I didn't get to wear it for Valentine's Day, I wore my very red Scully shirt on the gig tonight.

We played three sets for a very lively crowd. Francelle just brought the house down. We're going to miss her.

Just in case you were curious, here's a picture of Arnie's pedal board.

And here's a picture of my pedal board.

Here's a couple of crowd shots. They're having their fun, oh boy!

On a break I wander out to the front patio and take this from the back of the room toward the stage. It's just one big room, not fancy, but efficient, upscale casual.

The bar manager, Brandi, treats us very well. She bought me beer, Stone IPA (one of my favs), all night long.

Francelle lets me take a glam shot just before we start the last set.

We're done by 12:30. It doesn't take me long to pack up my gear. Arnie says, "Hey! Are you still here?"

I helped Johnny load out all of his gear and then I made my way home to have a nice relaxing Lagunitas Maximus, another of my favs.

Coming up ahead is the Valley View Casino with the KRB this Sunday. Then next week is a Ranch run with the ANB, paid rehearsal on Tuesday, classic country Wednesday, then the regular Saturday night. Somebody bought out the Ranch on a Friday night for a private party. Must be some party!

Thanks for looking in on my gig.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

Elks Lodge Birthday, 2/10/18

Hello everyone,

Oh boy! I'm a month behind with my gig blog. Sorry about that. Let's start with this one...



Me and the ANB had a fun time playing a birthday party for the family of clients who come to see us at The Ranch. Arnie has known them for a couple of years and it was very nice of them to invite us to play for a special 60th birthday.

The evening started about 4:45pm with me picking up Johnny Fingers and all of his gear. John brings three times as much gear as I do. Yeegads.

It was only a 40 mile haul to the venue but the traffic was sticky in a few places so it took a little over an hour to get there. Here we are looking at the San Gabriel Valley as we go over Kellogg Hill.

We arrived just after dark to the Elks Lodge 888. We loaded in the back door.

We rolled through the bar area. (It's like a time warp in here.) The crowd was arriving as we did. But everyone was respectful and gave us room to set up.

There were two large rooms in the front of the lodge. This room where we set up was for music, dancing, and the buffet line. Here we are plugging stuff in. The room behind the camera was used for the main dining area.

John ended up using only two of his keyboard but used both of his powered speakers because he loves to run stereo. I brought a thermos of coffee, just because.

It looks like we are all set up and ready to make noise. It's time to put on our cowboy clothes.

But first! We were invited to partake in the buffet even though it meant we'd start a little late. Nobody minded. The food was really good. Here's Jason, first in line.

We had pulled pork and chicken. There were rolls for sandwiches but I passed on most of the carbs. That coleslaw was excellent. The baked beans were Grandma's special recipe. I asked our hostess about the special ingredient. She said it was Canadian bacon and maple syrup. Those beans were just about the best I ever had.

We are just about ready to start. Francelle lets me take a nice picture.

Then Francelle's fan club decided to photobomb. They were having fun dancing this evening.

Francelle begins our dinner set. You see my goStand with the clamp-on sheet holder.

 Arnie and Francelle cut up on the mic.

John wowed them with a boogie-woogie tune called "Mama Screw Your Wig On Tight".

Jason was having fun too. He brought his smallest kit. It was a small gig.

Here's the birthday boy, Rich, with Francelle. Rich's family was mostly French-Canadian. Francelle was a big hit because she is from New Brunswick. They were speaking French all night.

You might remember Yvonne from last weekend at The Ranch. She's also part of this clan.

We played until 11:30pm and had to call it a night. It was a fun party. Now it's time to get to work.

By the time we packed up, helped John and Arnie with their gear, dropped John off, unloaded his gear, and drove home, I got three hours sleep before playing in church the next morning. I needed a nap after church. 

Now I'm gonna learn a few new tunes for the True Willie rehearsal tomorrow. I've got a gig with Arnie on Friday evening. Other than that I'm not too busy this week. Thanks for looking!

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff