Sweet Onion Festival, 4/28/18

Greetings and Felicitations!

Me and the ANB had a bit of an adventure this past Saturday traveling to and playing for the Imperial Market Days and Sweet Onion Festival. It's an annual street fair that features vendor and food booths and an exciting onion eating contest. Imperial and the other towns north of El Centro are basically farming communities and have that great small-town feel to them. The whole event was laid back, no pressure, no hurry, have fun, relax. Pretty cool.

We had a 4pm load-in time with a 5pm downbeat. I thought that might be cutting it close so I planned to be there by 3pm just in case. I was at Johnny's house a little past 11:30am to load his gear along with mine into the trusty Astro van.

I brought my "large" rig and John brought his full rig so we had Bob van Astro loaded up pretty good.

We even had stuff in the back seat.

We got on the road just about noon expecting to drive for three hours to make the 175 mile journey. We drove past Palm Springs, past Indio, and then headed south beside the Salton Sea.

It's a huge inland sea that is below sea level almost as much as Death Valley. There's wildlife, recreation, beaches, and a little resort of sorts at Salton City and Salton Sea Beach.

After we drove past that huge body of water (about 350 square miles) it got really desolate.

It was quite windy today. We could see the sand "walking" across the road until we got back to some civilization. We took some side roads through some farmland, around the towns of Westmorland and Brawley, that gave us a more direct route to the gig.

John and I made great time. We arrived at downtown Imperial a little past 2:30 and parked right behind our stage. We used the Circle K restroom for our green room. As long as we made a purchase they didn't mind.

We were the first to arrive. The sound company wasn't even here yet. Last year the band had to start two hours late because of the sound company. So John and I decided to go next door to the local brewery, Humble Farmer, where there would be a big cornhole contest later.

Corry introduced us to a nice stout, a carrot ale, and let us sample a few others.

After our refreshment John and I went back to the stage and found the rest of the band. Arnie, Jason, and Amanda had all ridden in Arnie's truck.

It looks like the sound company is here. That's good. We might start on time. The street vendors and city workers are getting the place ready for our party tonight, setting up tents and stringing lights.

Behind Jason setting up his drums you see Noah, the one-man stage crew, and Steve, our sound man, getting things wired up.

There was an issue with the sub-woofer. The sound company owner, Keiko, is going to bring another. Let's hope it gets here on time. Steve will be using a good old analog A&H board. I don't mind analog at all.

This is the view looking north on Imperial Ave. from the intersection at Barioni where the stage is located. The atmosphere is anticipatory excitement like everyone is having fun setting up and getting ready to have fun. You can hear it in the conversations and revelry.

I'm glad I brought my larger rig (GK410Neo) because Arnie ended up bringing two amps "since we were playing outside".

I think next time I'll bring two amps also. You see that the city has decorated the stage with hay bales and onions. I think it looks perfect.

The sound crew had some trouble getting their PA sorted. The sub eventually got there. There were issues with the monitors. Arnie and Amanda ended up sharing a mix. The sub eventually went out but they got it sort-of working again. We started an hour late. But nobody seemed to mind. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Here's Amanda hoping to hear something from her monitor. Steve worked hard and got it going.

John and Jason get their monitor mixes dialed in.

There's our girl! Now she's happy that she can hear herself sing. It's going to be a good night.

After a quick sound check we put on our cowboy clothes and got started.

It was a warm, windy day. We were uncovered and facing west, looking right into the sun.

But we just put on our hats and glasses and had a great time.

When Amanda does "I Feel Like A Woman" I have a few seconds to snap a photo during the intro.

Here's the view from my mic. I wish I would've remembered to bring my hat. At least I had sunglasses.

Johnny plays his big piano number. We all watch Amanda dance and play "air piano".

Go Amanda! Go!

This gal is just too cute! She has fun with us.

Jason seems to be having a good time despite looking into the sun.
 

Arnie and I do a little dancing too.

On the break Arnie goes to the Circle K and treats us to a cold one.

Then we're back for the next set. Ahhhh. The sun is almost set.

On our last break our hostess takes us back to the Humble Farmer for some supper.

Arnie enjoys the red ale. They've got some pretty good brews here.

We all enjoyed our roast beef hoagie and onion rings. Arnie almost got his finger bitten.

Then before we started our last set I took a selfie in front of the banner.

A nighttime shot of our stage. Good down-home fun.

The line dancers come out at night.

We are having a great time during the last set.

We played a bit past 9pm because we were having such a good time. Then we wasted no time clearing the stage. Here's Arnie doing one more idiot check.

Then we hit the road for home. I dropped off John and his gear (he lives close) and made it home at about 1am. It was a long day but quite enjoyable. Thanks for coming along with me.

Next week we're going to be a bit busy with three events. Wednesday evening will be at Downtown Disney, Thursday at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino, then Saturday is a private event at a fancy golf club in south Orange county. I'd better take a nap every chance I get.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff 

The Ranch, 4/25/18

Hi gang,


I picked up an extra gig this week. How about that?

Just a low-key Wednesday night at The Ranch where most Wednesdays they have a more traditional country night and feature bands that are basically auditioning to get in the rotation here. It just so happens that this week the band that was scheduled had to cancel for some reason. The owner called Arnie and asked if we were available. Most of us were so we did the gig. You've all seen me play this gig a zillion times so I just snapped a few pictures to share.

John was there early to set up. Here's the view of his rig, on stage right this time, overlooking the dance floor. It was a pretty light night.

The rigs of a couple of dads, me and Arnie. 

It's the last swing dance just before we start our first set. 

Here's the last line dance before we start our first set. That's Dev right up front, our instructor this evening. 

Here's a band shot just before Heather, the entertainment manager, takes the stage to announce us. 

And here she is! It's Heather! She's going to announce us so we can get this party started. 

Jason checks the dilithium crystals in his warp drive before we engage. 

This is just too much cuteness on stage. Heather and Amanda let me have a picture. 

I think we're into the second set now. I like to watch Amanda dance. 

I guess Arnie likes to watch Amanda dance too. 

OK, we all like to watch Amanda dance while John plays his big hit "Mama Screw Your Wig On Tight". 

We were scheduled for two sets but we got off even earlier than that. The second set was only a half hour. I don't mind getting off earlier than early. But then on the way home it seems like half the time half of the freeway is closed for repair. I guess this is my tax dollars at work. 

I was still home before 11pm. Pretty good for a school night. On Saturday we all get to drive down to El Centro for the Sweet Onion Festival in Imperial CA. I'd better fill up my tank and check my oil.

In the meantime, here's some cell phone video that Heather shared to the Fakebook.

Thanks for looking!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff 

Canyon Cowboy Saloon, 4/20/18

Howdy friends and neighbors!

C'mon in and sit a spell and let me tell you about my Friday night at a new place for us. It's a new room that just opened in January after being remodeled by the new owners. Me and the ANB played at The Canyon Cowboy Saloon in Canyon Lake near Lake Elsinore.

My weekend began after a busy Friday at the day job followed by a two hour commute to the gig. It normally takes an hour to get there but with Friday rush hour traffic all bets were off. This is the southbound freeway through Corona. This is why the city's nickname is "Slow-rona".

But I made call time with no problem to find a pretty full parking lot. I parked as close as I could and wheeled my cart full of gear past the new sign out front.

The venue's front door is there off the patio. It was a lovely day and many guests had their supper on the patio.

We loaded in at the side door near the ramp to the stage. Here's Arnie muscling his Little Walter tweed amp like a boss. The lady in the window gives me a strange look.

I walk into the room to find it quite lovely, well done with all the wood and stuff.

It was a good sized stage for a moderately sized room, well laid out. We begin our setup dance.

While the lads enjoy their dance I visit the little bass player's room, our green room, my dressing room. It's a first-class restroom.

The faucets look like little manual hand (pitcher) pumps. Very country.

This is our soundman, Scott. He was very methodical with us and did a good job. A couple of patrons told me that this guy makes the bands sound the best. I guess they have other sound guys who don't do so well. We lucked out that Scott was on the schedule for tonight.

Scott uses the iPad to mix. The sound gear is in the closet behind the stage.

The iPad talks to this rack of Yamaha and Crown gear. The mains were QSC and our floor wedges were Behringer. All the speakers were powered so I'm not sure what the Crown was for. I'm just the bass player.

The room has a large and lively supper crowd. The food here looks great. Here's my view from the stage.

As the supper crowd finishes up some tables are moved to make room for dancing. We did a quick line check but got no real sound check. Scott is still wiring the stage. There are snakes built into the floor at various spots around the stage, very convenient.

Here's my usual "small" rig for this gig. I actually played my JBS for the first half of the fist set since it was heavy with traditional and classic country music.

I think Randy is hungry, waiting for his supper. We've all heard great things about the food here.

I decided to try the house "Saloon Burger", a half pound burger with Swiss cheese and bacon. John and I shared our side of beans and salad. Randy got a grilled chicken sandwich with a side of brussel sprouts which he said were out of this world.

The bar had quite a selection of draft beer with a couple that they brew locally right there at Canyon Cowboy. I enjoyed a stout brew called The Patsy from a local brewery in Costa Mesa, Barley Forge. The owner was hospitable enough to comp our beer too.

We're about to get started. I snap a picture of Scott as he mixes from out front. He also works double duty as the DJ on our breaks. There's a booth at the back of the room. There's someone else standing in it right now. I guess he's working the lights from there.

Here's my "just about to get started" round of pictures.

Randy and Arnie. Sorry about the mic stand there, Randy.

Jason brought is small blue Breakbeats kit.

Here's a fuzzy blue picture of John.

On a break the soundman-turned-DJ Scott keeps some people on the dance floor.

And we're back for our last set. The night went by quickly. Seems we played three sets between the 9:30pm downbeat and the 1am quitting time.

Jason's kit sounds great but it was pretty loud on stage, as were Arnie and Randy. I wore my ear plugs all night. It might help if a thick curtain was behind the band instead of that wood paneling.

Usually John likes to play pretty loud too but even he was complaining about the volume.

Here's the view from my mic during the last set. Sometimes you couldn't see anything.

We still had the patrons on the floor for the last set. They were having fun.

Then we played "Sweet Home Alabama" and brought the house down. It was time to leave. Here we are doing the tear-down dance.

Even though I thought we were pretty loud I got great feedback from strangers in the crowd. The staff and management were all great and took really good care of us. We've got more dates booked here so I'm looking forward to them.

My next gig scheduled is a Saturday when we play the Sweet Onion Festival in Imperial CA, right down near the border just north of El Centro. That's going to be a long drive/long day. John and I will carpool.

Until then, thanks for looking in on my gig. I appreciate it.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff