Jeff’s Blog

Two good nights at the Owl’s Club with costumes both nights. Check out the photo gallery on the home page for pics. Can’t say enough about the work put into the stage setup - probably the most elaborate Halloween stage ever imagined. Bob did the bulk of the work with help from Angie, Trevor, and Cyndi. The band was in costume all  weekend and had good crowds both nights. We had a lot of fun and hope everyone that came out did too. Jessie Aron was out both nights and sang a few Elvis tunes - I see Trevor added these to our UStream site, which you can link to from here in the lower right corner under links. Check out Matt’s “Monster Mash” while you’re there - really something to see. I was a little disappointed that the Budda D’s jam was cancelled on Sunday - after I’d already showed up. It happens I guess. We’re off this weekend and time to do some more “winterizing” around the house - yay. We’ll see you in a couple of weeks.

A pretty good weekend at the Countryside. The Milton High School class of 1993 held their 15th reunion Saturday night which made for good time. We even had the bartenders dancing on the bar both nights. Matt’s and my parents were out on Saturday and had some fun. The jam at Bubba D’s was interesting as we started at 11:OO am and played up to starting time of the Packer game. Usually playing that early on a Sunday morning means being in church. I’m hoping to be forgiven for that…I’m back at the jam again in two weeks. Here’s an issue I’d like to bring up - deciding what to play. As most of you know, we play a little differently at some places depending on the crowd, especially at starting time. I feel it’s our job to play for who’s in the room. And granted, a bar owner is hiring us and has some say as to what he or she is paying for. Without getting too specific - an owner hires a ”younger” band and has a good night. The band plays all fast songs - no slow ones. Owner decides we should follow the same format, regardless what the makeup of the crowd is. This translates to the owner not only telling us no slow songs, but even getting specific as to what other songs should not be played. The instructions are to ignore an older crowd at the start because they’re not going to drink that much anyway. One night, we went most of the 1st set without a slow song and nobody danced. I knew the crowd was waiting for a slow one and called one anyway, ignoring our “instructions”. Of course, the floor was packed and I decided we were going to play what I felt was right for us and the people who came to see us. My thinking is, if you want that kind of band, then only hire those kinds of bands. We can adjust to a crowd, but this is telling us to be something we are not. 32 years and it’s not broke. It’s like the  person  in a relationship who feels it’ll work out once they “change” the other person - and we all know the end of that story. Now you know what’s up my ass this week! Next week it’s back to Tremors where it’s always a good time. Tim will be back and Trevor will be running the web cast on Saturday. We’re still selling the t-shirts if you don’t have one. See you at Tremors!

This weekend was a lot of fun, but let me start off by again wishing happy Bday to Earl and Nina. I regret not making more of situation this weekend but I’ll say it here. We had a good crowd both nights which made for some good times. It was just us (no Tim or Trevor) Friday night at Knutes, and the band had a nice sound. There wasn’t any break music so Jason cleverly wired his phone into the system and solved the problem. “I hope nobody calls me!” made us all chuckle. On Saturday, Trevor was back and did a fine job on sound and lights. But the credit again goes out to Jason, who brought a PA setup smaller, but similar to Tim’s. He and Trevor set things up and had us dialed in with a sound everyone was pleased with. My voice was having problems again ( I think a pulled a vocal muscle) so Jason and Cyndi covered the bulk of the vocals. My guitar sounded good so I contributed the best I could. Side note stuff - somebody in Milwaukee tore or cut off the end of my license plate to steal the sticker. I’m still working on getting that resolved. What a pain…Matt’s partner at work hurt himself skateboarding, so Matt is working some hellacious hours these days. Anyway, we’re hoping to keep the good times rolling back at the Countryside this weekend. Wish Nina and Earl a good one if you see them - and we’ll see you there!

An okay night at Johnny’s Office and thanks to all who came out. We were trying to generate some excitement, but not a lot of reaction until later in the night. Bob bought another drum set - this one is easier to play but still sounded good. I’ve been playing my Jack Daniels  guitar for awhile now and for the same reason. Trevor had his hands full with the sound, lights, and webcam, but everything seemed to work fine. Next week is 2 one-nighters with Friday at Knutes in Orfordville, and then Saturday back at Summer’s Pub (the former Pitcher’s Mound) in Beloit. We had fun the last times at both of these places and we’re looking forward to more! The jam at Bubba D’s (Indianford)  is still going and it was a fun Sunday afternoon. No jam this Sunday, but we’ll be back in two weeks. I also hit the blues jam on Wednesday here in Milwaukee, so it was a lot of playing this week for me. It’s good to enjoy what you do…Holly and I tried on our Halloween costumes tonight so we’re all set for that - and I didn’t grow a beard this year. A personal odd story - last night I dreamt the dog had “defecated” numerous times in the house. I don’t spank the dog, but in my dream, I was quite upset and had his nose in it and started to spank. I woke up to Holly yelling at me for slapping her on the arm….funny how the mind works. Anyway, stop out this weekend and say hello. See you there!

Two good nights at Tremors and thanks to all who stopped out. Trevor, Bob, and I were all sporting the new Tshirts on Saturday and hopefully we’re still selling them. The new Sugarland song went over well and got quite a few dancers. I thought we were practicing Saturday afternoon and was ready for a couple of new songs, only to be informed that practice was moved to next week. So I went down to Hammy’s, expecting an afternoon jam session and wound up at a benefit with Kaj playing with the Manberries. It was fun to see them again. It’s odd that I’ve been thinking that I haven’t seen Tim Pogorelski in a while. I was even planning on stopping at Boxcars on my drive home, and lo and behold, he was out this weekend and even played a few. Maybe Cyndi’s “secret” does work….Sunday afternoon again found me at Bubba D’s playing the jam. It was a good turnout with even Cyndi and Corey showing up. Cyndi had to leave but Corey played bass on a couple. Next week we’re at the Countryside and I’m playing the jam once more. It’s a long weekend for me as I leave Milwaukee after work on Friday night and get back late on Sunday. Holly is being understanding for now…and I managed just enough daylight after work Monday to mow the yard. Anyway, stop out to the Countryside this weekend and say hello. Hopefully, we’ll have some new tunes. See you there!

Monday night and the Packers just won. Cyndi beat me to it but an okay weekend at the Owls. We had a practice Saturday afternoon and learned the new Sugarland song “All I Want to Do” which went over quite well. The band sounded good and we had a fun time. My voice was feeling better on Saturday too and I did a handful of songs. The only down side, also mentioned by Cyndi, was a few bad remarks in the chat section of the webcast. I’ve been told this is not the first time, and it’s probably to be expected, but frustrating any way you look at it. We could close the chat section if this gets too out of hand, but hopefully it won’t come to that. But for now it’s a weekend off and time to think about other things. I did a little moonlighting on Sunday afternoon at Bubba Ds in Indianford playing in the jam band. Former member Cary Farmer is the other guitarist and asked me to play. I had a great time and was asked back for the next one in two weeks - the Sunday after Tremors. Holly and I are thinking about possibly getting away for few days being that we’re off. Sounds like a good idea to me being that we haven’t had any sort of a vacation in a few years. Wednesday night will most likely find me at the blues jam, and then we’re back to Tremors on the 19th - 20th. And Holly taped the CNN segment form Meyers market. I remarked that they probably saw “the Great Pumpkin” from the interstate which it seems is what happened. Very cool…Anyway, rest the dancing legs a bit and then come to see us at Tremors. See you there!

After all the trouble last week, we were ready for a good time. Rich Longhenry, a neighbor of Cyndi and Bryan, and friend of the band, bought one of Hank William Jr’s old tour buses and drove us to On the Waterfront in style. It was a lot of fun and thanks to Rich for the driving. Jason was back and the band was well received. It was an afternoon job so we had the evening free. Most of us went out to the Anchor Inn to see Pink Houses. It was a first for me and I was quite impressed with them. After they quit, I went down to Tremors to see Decade of Rock, or something like that. The bass player was someone I knew from school and I enjoyed them too. It’s different for me being at Tremors watching another band as I’m usually back in Milwaukee when we’re done. Sunday had us back at Crazy Horse campground and we had a good time there. The weather was perfect all weekend and we had a good crowd. We’re still pushing the new Tshirts if you haven’t got one yet. They’re only $10.00 which is quite cheap for a shirt these days. And, as mentioned in the guest book, Bob and Angie were married in Las Vegas, so we have a newlywed in the band. It’s back to the Owl’s Club next weekend and we’re again hoping for a good turnout. Stop out, say congrats to Bob and Angie, get a shirt, and do some dancing! We’ll see you there.