12/26 - The Mustard Seed

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.
Fuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he? NO ~ it was Jake!

Apparently, a battle of the wills ensued and she who held the clippers won. Try to remember this life lesson, weed hopper....never go up against the will of a woman.

Bernie, Betty (the Clipper Queen), and David were there to cheer us on. Thank you! It's always appreciated.

It was a fairly sparse group, being the day after Christmas and all, but we got a great response from everyone, so that made it nice.

Abraham, the new manager has everything under control and we look forward to working with him again.

12/19 - BW3

Anno sat in with us during the last set and what a great time that was! Thanks for stopping out and pleeeeeeeeeeeze join us again when ever you can (and it doesn't just have to be at BW3's, you know). I'd forgotten how much fun it was to sing "Closer To Fine" with the other girl's part and I was so excited that I completely lost track of where I was in the last part of the song
....amateur.

Betty and Lindy were there as well to offer their support. Lindy's new friend, Steven was quite a piece of work, but he at least attempted to give Jake the thumbs up during one of his solos. And by the way, "attempted" is the key word in that sentence. He was feeling no pain.

This was our first winter-ish gig, so the back dock and steps were nicely coated in ice and then topped with snow. Having mastered the art of slipping on snow covered ice, falling, and braking my wrist many moons ago, I was just a wee bit terrified of a repeat performance so I made the boys risk life and limb while I stood in one spot holding the door that didn't require any holding.
But I did tell them to be careful....does that count?

12/12 - The Pub

This was a patio gig. All right, fine then ~ technically it was indoors, because the patio was enclosed for the winter and there were 850 heaters out there (I asked them to turn off the one directly above us), but I'm still counting it as a patio gig.

The Dunder Mifflin Christmas party was being held out there. Well, that's what Mudcat was calling them anyway, but we swear that one of the girls in their party was Angela. "Michael"
asked Mud if he could come up and make an announcement that the first 2 drinks were on him and then it was an open bar. Mudcat said that was fine, to just come up to the mic when ever he was ready. Very early on, the party started to thin from the 30 people they started with and it appeared that it was happening after each person finished their second drink. Coincidence? I think not. Anyway, when it eventually got down to "Michael" and "Dwight", Mudcat had to be a smartass and ask him when he wanted to make his important announcement.

Thanks to Betty, Bernie, and company for coming out and staying and thanks to Bernie for the barley sodas!

Mr. Peanuts made a guest appearance, but unfortunately we didn't get to talk with him because we were in the middle of a set and Peanuts left before we finished. We waved to each other, so that will have to do for now, but next time I expect double hugs.

Kevin and Jeff were the servers in the patio and they were wearing kilts. Well, not just the two of them, but all the boy servers. I really wanted to ask THE question, but I figured that they've probably been asked so many times that its cleverness was lost long ago....plus, I'm thinkin' that some things are just better left unknown. Anyway, they were very nice boys and took good care of us.

And what's a gig post from me without mentioning the bathrooms? Well, let me tell you about the bathrooms at The Pub. Actually, it's not so much the bathrooms themselves (very nice and clean), but more the journey to get to them....Across the patio to the side bar, through that section and down a small hall to the front door, a sharp right turn took me to the main bar area where the tile floor and my boots did not play nice together, eventually made my way between the bar and the booths without actually falling, to the plushly carpeted back dining room. A slalom course took me through the tables to the back of that area, then a sharp right turn down a ramp to finally arrive at the bathrooms on the left. I really could have used a GPS...or a rest stop along the way.

12/5 - Mojo's Coffee House

This was our first open mic night at Mojo's and I do believe that it was a success.

Don and Ron both brought their guitars with them. Ron (Kingfish) played some of his originals during our break. He plays at the Flying Monkey, but of course I can't remember the days.
Anyway, when he launched into his twist on Johny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, I just couldn't sit still and went up to play the cabasa while he sang. Then Mudcat joined us and then Jake filtered his way up there, followed by Don.

The boys jammed together to a few more tunes and then Don took his turn at a couple songs.

Mudcat, Jake, and I finished up the gig and ended by request with a repeat of our version of "Time Won't Let Me", which is Don's brother Tom's song (Tom King of the Outsiders). Betty and/or Bernie caught it on video, which Mud posted, so if you have a spare moment, check it out.

And speaking of Betty and Bernie, thanks for being there for us. Your support is greatly appreciated (even if Jake won't admit it!). Also thanks to Colleen for stopping out and to Joey for helping out with percussion.

12/4 - Riders Inn

Christmas trees as far as the eye can see....they were for a silent auction to benefit the Morley Library. What clever ideas! Not sure how long the auction is going on for, but if you're interested in a miniature theme tree and/or helping the library, give them a call.

Paul and Little B were there to offer support and chit chat during the break. They're just so cute together.

Samantha (the resident horny cat) was missing, so I'm thinkin' that she may have been out trying to break her litter record again.

Our new friend, Lynn (a.k.a. the hostess) offered up some requests. She was pretty excited about having the songs "dedicated" to her.

And once again, I judged by appearance and shouldn't have, but let's see if you would have come to the same conclusion ~
A guy at the bar who was wearing short sleeves to show off his tattoos (actually looked like one giant tattoo, because his arms were completely covered in them) yelled out "awesome tune!" when I was singing Jewel's You Were Meant For Me song. And for those of you who are familiar with the game "what Lola heard", it was "you're out of tune!". Anyway, I wouldn't have thought he would be into that song. Then as he was leaving, he stopped to listen and sing along for the ending of the Motel's song Only The Lonely. Again, didn't think that song would appeal to him. I was pleasantly surprised.

11/14 - Mustard Seed

Ah...the place with the giant glitter lava lamps at the bar. I love those things!

But here's something I do not love ~ a ringer for the Salvation Army was out front. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the ringers or the SA, but it's not even Thanksgiving yet. If they're going to start that early in the season, then why not just do it all year long? And what happened to their uniform? I know the ringers haven't worn them for years, but I'm just now ranting about it. Okay, I think I'm over it now.

Oh, my goodness the cutest little boy EVER was there with his parents having some supper time treats. He had to have been about 2-ish. Watching him was entertaining enough when he was looking at Jake and Mudcat with wide eyed wonder and then started playing along with them on his air guitar, but when he launched into playing the air drums (complete with cymbals) I thought I would die.

And I also thought I would die (or at least need Jake's help) when I tried to stand up after squatting down to zip up the mic stand bag. Mud and I went on a 15-ish mile bike ride and then took a walk after that in the morning/afternoon before the gig. But don't worry about me...I'll be alright.

The good news is that we're now playing at the Mustard Seed once a month through the summer!

11/7 - Redhawk Grill

Apparently, the Ohio State game was the main attraction. According to the manager, the place was packed for the game and then everyone left. There were just a handful of people throughout the evening, but at least we never out numbered them. That's good, right? Even the Beatles had it rough before they became a household name, but why doesn't that make me feel better?

After we had set up and I was making the final adjustments to my area, our new friend, Michael comes up to me and says, "oh, I see you have a stick". Stupid me wondered how the hell he knew that I drive a stick, so along with the deer in the headlights look I gave him, I also said, "what?".
And then he pointed to the Bose tower....never mind. Michael stayed for the duration and he seemed to like us as much as he liked the Bose "stick".

Our entertainment (or at least mine, anyway) was watching these 2 guys shoot pool. One of the guys had quite a flair with the cue, but that didn't help his game...unless the game was to see how many times he could land the cue ball in the pockets.

And there's the ever amusing hand driers in the bathroom. I'm pretty sure the force of the air that shoots out of them could propel a small child across the room. Dries the hands pretty quickly, though.

10/24 - Mojo's Coffee House

Unfortunately, I missed this gig because I was at a memorial service. However, I can still do the blog from Mudcat's report of the gig. Here goes ~

It was good. (he's a man of many words)

After some interrogation, when I was almost to the point of shining a light in his face to make him talk, he fessed up that Betty and Bernie were there.

Then there was a lull in the conversation.

But, I was able to get more information from him ~ Grandma Jake was there and also our new friend Don.

Maybe Mudcat should start writing the gig blogs....or not.

10/17 - BW3 (Broadview Hts)

I made it back from my niece's wedding in Loudonville (yeah, you can't get there from here) just as the boys were finishing with setting up. It felt like I'd been driving for half my life.

Carl, Madeline, Jeff, and Robin came out to see us! It meant the world to me to have "Uncle Carl" at one of our gigs.

Deb ventured out and I wanted to officially meet her, but she snuck out the second that we ended.

And our greatest supporters, Betty and Bernie were there as well. I'm sorry that I didn't get to talk with you, it's just that I haven't seen Carl in about 112 years and I spent all my break time talking with him and his family.

Did any of you see the giant beer mug? Oh, my goodness! It had to be 3ft tall. Honest. I watched the bartender filling it and to get the last bit of beer into it she had to set it on the floor and pour beer into it from a regular beer glass. To carry it, she held it from the bottom and had the top part of it leaning against her shoulder. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't drink that much beer in one sitting, but if I could manage it,I'm very sure that it would be warm by the time I finished. Wonder how much that thing cost.

I caught some guy giving a girl the "once over" look. He must have felt me watching him, because he looked over at me (after he was finished ogling that girl) and then quickly looked away. The guy was more than old enough to have been that girl's father, so it was kinda creepy.

And this has absolutely nothing to do with that, but Jake insists that he's not moonlighting as a real estate agent. Mudcat and I have our doubts.

10/16 - Brewsters

Once again, most everyone was in the "beerarium" (kinda like a terrarium, but different), but some people ventured out for a bit.

A woman who was in one of the booths on our side of things came up to us and told us that she really liked us and that she could listen to us all night. Then she headed for the door. But not to leave, like I thought she was going to do. Some people came in just then and she went to exchange pleasantries.

There was a gentleman, who appeared to have come directly from work parked in a booth when we got there. He was intently working on something on his computer while he had dinner and some libations. This man stayed until 10:30. I want to believe that it was because he was enjoying the music and not because he was a workaholic...perhaps it was a combination of the two.

And once again, I'm mistaken for a girl who "plays for the home team" (not that there's anything wrong with that...for them). I just don't butter my bread on that side.

10/10 - Riders Inn

Samantha, the resident cat (the one with the record number of litters) seems to have mellowed with age, because she hadn't had another litter recently nor was she pregnant. Turns out that her boyfriend, Cal got the big snip. She did manage to find her way outside while we were there (but this time it wasn't my fault), so by the time we make our way back again (Dec 4th ~ mark your calender) we'll be able to tell if she's loyal to Cal or if she's trying to break her own record.

There was a couple who came from Strongsville (for the food, not for us) who really enjoyed Mudcat's version of "Stray Cat Strut", especially after seeing Samantha dart through the pub on her way outside via the door that was left open (did I mention it wasn't my fault this time?).

Our new friend, Dave moved in from the bar to watch Mudcat maneuver his guitar strings around. Dave had to sell his guitar when he was in FL for gas money to get back to OH. He misses his guitar, but doesn't miss FL.

And what's a gig without an absentee song request? Dan came through for us this time. We did "Rock Me". He left just after we started and didn't come back in until we were well into another song. He must have had a really long cigarette or a really big beer to consume, because "Rock Me" is a fairly lengthy song.

We got quite a lot of other requests from Dan's friend, who didn't leave even when we didn't know her requests. But, I wrote down her requests so that we can learn them and add them to our song list. Whatdya wanna bet that if she's there again in December, she'll request something else that we don't know.

10/2 - Mustard Seed

Now, this was an interesting gig indeed! The Mustard Seed is a grocery store with a very nice restaurant situated on its upper level (all grocery items are on the lower level). The back wall of the grocery section was open to the restaurant section and we were able to have a bird's eye view of the shopping that was going on while we were singing. If you've ever been to Trader Joe's, it was like that but way, way bigger.

The best thing about this place was the giant lava lamps on the bar, but instead of the globs-o-goo, they were filled with glitter. Pretty neato peato.

There were signs on the edge of the stage advising that children were not allowed on the stage without constant adult supervision....you guessed it, Mudcat was our designated adult.

Oooh, and there were some pretty cool stained glass items hanging around. One was right behind us. They also had some photography on display in the back hallway. The restaurant was like fine dining combined with a coffee house feel. Very unique and well put together.

We had a good time and everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves too (which is always a plus). Bernie was our support group for the evening. And thank you for the yummy dessert items!

9/26 - Mojo's Coffee House

Once again, Betty and her crew come through for us! Thanks to all who helped make the gig a "success" and more fun.

Our new friend, Don was there too offering up sound check advice.

Still trying to get Jake to sing more ~ he's just not having it. And during one of Mudcat's songs Jake was displaying signs of boredom, so I decided to annoy (I mean amuse) him with doing the bump. Silly me didn't consider the fact that he had no idea what the hell I was doing....he looked a wee bit horrified. But, don't worry about him....he'll be alright.

The rain decided to hold off for us through the entire gig when it wouldn't have mattered, since we were inside. But of course, as our luck would have it the rain started up just as we were finished and packing up to leave. I guess we must have been living right (at least for a few hours), because it let up to a super fine mist that didn't amount to anything while we were loading the van.

Other than that, I got nothin'.

9/23 - The Hyatt Arcade

This was a lunchtime gig, so we were Jakeless. I don't like being Jakeless.

And this was also our official like 500th gig, even though we celebrated our 500th gig at the Jackalope...kinda like Veteran's Day (observed). And no, I'm not comparing us to our veterans, just how the day is always observed on the closest Monday to the actual day.

The Arcade has been around for a bazillion years and it was pretty neato-peato to play there. We were on the bridge that connects the sides on the 2nd floor.

Being a lunch time gig I figured that everyone would be too busy chowing down and watching their time to pay any attention to us, but some people were actually clapping for us. We even had a few come up from the 1st floor level on their way out to tell us that they enjoyed our music.

It was a pretty uneventful gig, which was actually quite refreshing. We just tried to blend in to the scenery.

9/19 - Rush Inn

I'll borrow one of my mom's legendary comments of "that was different" to describe this gig.

And I'll add country and karaoke to the Sleeper's list of the types of bands that we are...motown, reggae, jazz.

There was this nice chick who wanted to sing "Danny's Song" and "You Were Meant For Me"
(which we don't do, but Jake knew them), so I stepped down and she stepped up to sing them. Then we returned to our regularly scheduled program.

Then one of the men at the bar decided to test Mudcat's multi-tasking abilities. While Mud was
playing his guitar and singing his song this man came up to chat with him and ask him if he knew a particular Faith Hill song. And yes, Mudcat was able to throw in conversation to his juggling act, but that talent was lost on this man. He just shook his head with a combo look of disappointment and disbelief because we didn't know his request.

So, the life and times of Project Mojo continued on as usual to carry us to our break.

About 3 seconds after we sat down, a girl from the bar came up and asked Mudcat if we knew that same Faith Hill song (of course, I can't remember which one...). When Mud told her that the man who she was sitting next to already asked him that and we still didn't know it, she became quite defensive saying that her friends want to hear her sing it and the only other song she knows without having the words to look at is the Jewel song, but she already sang that one.

Then she launched into a list of about 5 more country songs and after each one that we didn't know, I told her that we really aren't a country band. So, she went back to her first request and became more and more adamant that we learn it - right now. She even asked the boys "what if I just start singing and you guys just play along". Mud tried to explain to her that it would be a lot easier to do that if he had actually heard the song before. Wrong answer (for us, not for her).

She found the song on her phone and then shoved the phone toward Mudcat's ear. After listening to it for a brief moment, he politely told her that he could hear the vocals, but couldn't pick out the chords and that he was sorry. She was flabbergasted saying, "I can't believe you can't hear that....I can hear it". Then she grabbed her phone from Mud and said, "maybe he can hear it" and shoved it in Jake's direction. So, while Jake was doing the same polite thing of listening to the song, she tells me how she's been in country music singing competitions and that she's done quite well and that her friends really want to hear her sing. I refrained from telling her that her friends might have a better chance of hearing her sing if they would all leave and go to a bar that was having karaoke night.

Then she turned her attention back to Jake and he politely told her that he couldn't get the chords from listening to it on her phone either and that he was sorry too.

Now, wouldn't you think that's where the story ends?

But wait, there's more ~

That took up our entire break time and we apologized once again and took our places back on the stage. She followed us up there and was still trying to get Jake to listen to it one more time to figure it out.

HONEST.

Mud decided to rescue Jake and launched into a song that we knew that was not a country song.

And no, those people never left. They stayed and took turns giving us the hairy eyeball.

8/29 - Jackalope

Thanks to Rhoda and Rick for coming out to help us celebrate our 500th gig!

It was a slow start, but there was some sort of reunion party going on in the bar that spilled over and pretty much filled the patio area. They were still going strong when we were packing up to leave.

I was in the midst of a lovely summer cold, so I had all my items around me...Kleenex, cough drops, hot tea with honey, ice water with lemon. And I lived to tell the tale.

Jake was forced to sing (HA! HA!). Someone requested Pink Floyd and he's our PF guy.

The wind was constantly pulling the door open and banging it closed about 2 feet away from Mud and I think he may have lost his mind for a brief moment...but, not to worry ~ he's like a Boy Scout (always prepared) and fetched a bungee cord from the van to strap the door closed.

We look forward to being back at the Jackalope next summer (they don't have entertainment through the fall and winter months).

8/29 - John Talk Radio Interview

Here's the link to the interview ~ http://www.blogtalkradio.com/john-darlington

Poor Jake...his phone took a dump right in the middle of the interview, so we did the Lucy/Ethel thing with my phone between us and both of us straining one ear to hear.

I was a little nervous, not knowing who or how many people were listening to us, but I tried to sound like a normal person and not ramble on...you know how I get.

And Jake and I decided to let Mudcat do the bulk of the answering to John's questions. Not sure how Mud felt about that decision...but, oh well.

8/15 - Mojo's Coffee House

The Mojos were back at Mojo's.

Thank you to Betty and her crew who made the gig worthwhile (again)!

Our new friend, Don was there and did a video of us on a couple of songs.

He had the camera aimed at me when I was singing "Carousel Dream" and it made me nervous. I wasn't sure where to look, so I end up coming across as having some horrible affliction where my eyeballs constantly dart about. Or I suppose it could look like I'm all hopped up on something and paranoid beyond belief. Either way, it's a little disturbing to watch.

The other song that Don recorded was "Stray Cat Strut". At least Mud and Jake (who likes long walks and candlelight dinners) looked normal.

8/14 - Kepner's

I don't know how many of you have ever been to Hudson (that's where Kepner's is), but it's a quaint little town that's a wee bit too picture perfect, bordering on Stepford Wife-ish. Then we combined Steven King into the mix and were afraid that we would be stuck there forever with no way out, but no.

Everyone seemed to know everyone and I'm not sure how they were able to tell each other apart, because almost all the women had the exact same hair cut with the majority of them even having the same hair color.

And then there was the girl who like talked like non stop and like I like couldn't like believe that she could like make like a 3 word sentence like turn into like an entire like paragraph. She actually talked LIKE that.

Oh well, it was actually a fun gig. The place was hoppin' even up until 1-ish when we were leaving. I was amazed at the amount of people who showed up after midnight...guess I'm showing my age, huh?

8/7 - Jackalope

JAKE IS BACK!!!! I'm just a wee bit happy about it....

Our new friend, Madeline was quite the crazy chick. She had long blond hair, was about 8 feet tall with legs up to her ears, wearing a skirt that was as short as she was tall, with CFM shoes (girls ~ you know what those are, but in case you're unaware it stands for Come F_ _ _ Me). During the course of her dancing, she decided to flick her shoes off and in doing so sent one of them sailing through the air, coming to land on a woman sitting at a table about 10 feet away. I saw the shoe flicking and sailing part, then looked at Jake to see if he saw it. Not only did Jake see that, but he got to see it actually hit that unsuspecting woman. I looked back just in time to see her shocked reaction. I still can't believe that a fight didn't break out right in front of us. Luckily, the actual shoe part hit her and she wasn't impaled by the never ending spike that served as a heel. It's all fun and games 'til someone gets an eye poked out.

She wasn't the only one who went home worse for the wear. Our favorite bus boy (is it still politically correct to say "bus boy"...oh, who cares) was coming out of the bar into the patio area and a waiter (I know, I know...they're all servers now. Don't care) was going from the patio area into the bar. The BB pushed open the door and continued on, while the waiter stepped up onto the ramp in front of the door and was reaching out toward the door handle. The open door stopped when it hit the waiter's foot and the BB stopped when his head hit the door. That poor kid probably had one terrific head ache. I talked with him later and he said that it hurt, but he had to keep working so he just carried on. Just so you know, the waiter felt horrible and kept asking the BB if he was okay and apologized every time they crossed paths.

And there was lots of activity on the pier. A group of boys seemed to be quite the fishermen and being boys they were fishing while laying on their stomachs looking into the water and pointing, so it looked like they were giving the fish directions to their hooks.

Other than the minor accidents, it was a great evening. The place was packed all night, there were quite a few people who were dancing (and no, there is no dance floor), a lot of people were singing along and we actually found a couple of Dan Hick's fans.

We're hoping for that kind of group (or the same group plus more) back there on the 29th to help us celebrate our 500th gig. No, I didn't type an extra zero in there...five hundredth gig. So, if you weren't part of that group and you're not afraid of flying stilettoes, come on out on the 29th and join in the festivities. Better bring some protective head gear just in case.

7/31 - Bootleggers

They have a way cool patio and there was even a stage for us! It overlooked a pond with a fountain and their golf course. And from where the stage was situated, we got to see the sunset while we played.

We had quite a gathering early on and a few parties ended up staying. I'm going to believe they stayed for us and not for the beer.

Later in the evening, there was a gathering of young pups to celebrate Monica's 22nd birthday. We sang our birthday song to her and repeated the "stand up and take a bow" verse and I guess she figured that we were going to keep singing it until she did it, so we only had to sing that verse twice. I was shocked and amazed that she and her friends were singing along to all the "oldies" and one of the girls even requested "Ring Of Fire".

One of the birthday girl's friends came up and asked me if we knew "Amos Mountain". I told her that I didn't know what song she meant and she said,"you know..." and then proceeded to sing "Amos mountain high enough...". I politely told her (and without laughing) that now I know what song she means, but we don't know it. I'll never be able to hear Diana Ross sing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" without singing it as "Amos Mountain". I guess it's her version of "there's a bathroom on the right" and "excuse me while I kiss this guy".

And speaking of requests...."Man Who Sold The World" was requested by yet another one of Monica's friends and since we were still Jakeless we couldn't do it. I told Mudcat that Jake will never believe us that someone requested his favorite song. Next gig we'll have Jake back. YEA!!!!!!

7/30 - Best of the West

This was kind of like a trade show, but with the common theme being "best' rather than a specific industry or product. And the last I checked, "best" meant that there could only be one. Apparently, that's not the case on the west side.

This event was sponsored by West Shore magazine. The local businesses that were voted in as the best were the participants. There were restaurants, bars, catering services, wine stores, car wash, spas, salons, jewelry, ties, etc. It was pretty much all over the map as far as products.

Mudcat and I could be pretty much all over the map up on stage with tons of room to move about...we're still Jakeless (now he has a video to show how much we miss him). The being Jakeless part of it we weren't crazy about, but it was pretty cool to be up there looking out into the sea of people, which made us hugely thankful that we had our own space. We were told that attendance was about 500 people this year.

Saw some familiar faces in that sea of people; the crew from Rozi's, Peggy, Mudcat's niece, and Janet and Marsha (no, not the Brady Bunch Jan and Marsha).

Mudcat had a fan right from the get-go. A young-ish girl who kept coming up to the stage to listen to us (him) and she ended up requesting that we do an Eagles song. Gotta give her parents credit! We completely expected her to request Miley Cyrus.

Chris decided that it was open mike night and came up to sing and play (Chris brought his own guitar, but Mudcat let him use his). He did a song by himself, which he pulled off, but then tried to sing along with Mud (not to be confused with sing along with Mitch) and "tried" is the key word. He exited stage left during the first verse, but ended up coming back up when he realized where he left his beer.

According to Trish, the chick in charge of this event, we were well received and she'll keep us in mind for other events and/or next year's Best of the West. We had fun too!

7/25 The Room On Lorain

Well, we're still missing Jake (and he has the voice mail message as proof).

Oh, the conversations that we overhear...this organ donor (non-helmet wearing) motorcycle guy meanders up to the bar after parking his bike on the sidewalk right in front of the door, orders a beer and announces to Katie (the bartender) that he does not have insurance. First: he can't afford it and second: if he gets in an accident he'll be dead anyway, so why bother. Great logic.
The ironic thing is that Katie works for an insurance company during the day.

But that's not the best one. I do believe this overheard conversation tops his ~ a girl at the bar proclaims that she is itching out her ying-yang (her words, not mine). Go ahead and say it with me....ewwwwwwwwwww.

Two girls came in who appeared to be having a girls' night out and who also appeared to be expecting a different clientele with whom to share their excursion, decided to stay for at least a shot and a beer, which they downed in about 3 seconds (beer included). Apparently, bubble gum liqueur mixed with Red Bull (which they called a "bubble bomb") is quite tasty. I'll take their word for it.

And once again, the detailed, step-by-step instructional hand washing poster in the women's bathroom continues to amuse me. My favorite part is the last item under the heading of when to know that you need to wash your hands ~ "when hands become visibly soiled". Yeah, I'm thinkin' that would be a good time...

7/24 - Enclave

WE MISS JAKE!!!! He's in Oshkosh, where we're supposed to be too, but life happens. Not to worry ~ there's always next year and in the mean time Mudcat and I are making the most of our time at home.

While Jake is undoubtedly trying to escape from the Polka Kings (I still think he secretly likes polka music), the show must go on and we enjoyed having some elbow room on stage.

Kayla went home early. She had a spider bite on her leg that was causing her grief as well as causing her calf to be twice it's normal size. To add to that, she had a fresh tattoo that was tender and her allergies decided to join in the fun. She did not look happy.

Our sketcher was there again and I'm convinced that he does the same drawing over and over.

Oh yeah, and Jake's favorite couple was there too. They stayed for a while at their usual table where they sang back up on a couple of songs.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves including the group of young ones who started a board game around 11:00. Not sure what they were playing, but it seemed like a combination of Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble. I dunno....

7/18 - Huntington Park Pool Pavilion

This was a private party for Chris' college graduation. CONGRATULATIONS!

Linda and Bob were our hosts and WOW, can they put on a party! Seriously, they should consider going into the catering business. It was a feast fit for royalty. And a good time was had by all...pretty sure the monkey had something to do with that.

Honest, they really did have a monkey there. And not just any monkey. This monkey was on the Ellen show. Upstaged by a monkey. How many people can put that on their resume? At least three (that would be Mudcat, Jake, and yours truly). Note to Jake: I would advise against adding that to your resume for air traffic control.

Our version of "Mercedes Benz" was a HUGE hit! And if you haven't seen it yet or would like to see it again, here's the link ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwGy3_I5kT0

We ended the evening with a couple encores and a special request for Betty's favorite song, which began with a disclaimer and ended with Jake's Mr. Rogers advise to the kids.

And a very special thank you to BC (our favorite stalker) for the green room hospitality! You're the way best chick EVER!

7/17 - Riders Inn

Every time we play at Riders it either rains or snows. This time was no exception (rain). So, we have yet to play on their beautiful patio.

Painesville had their Party In The Park event going on this weekend and apparently they were charging unbelievably high prices for food. One couple who was at the event, stopped in for some supper time treats and listened to us for a while before heading back down to the park.

We had a good time with the crew that was there ~

One girl who was there with her parents particularly liked "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away", Mudcat's rendition of "Silver Wings" was a big hit with Karen, the bar goddess and a couple guys who were sitting at the bar did the lighter thing during "Hotel California", which made me feel like we were at Blossom doing a concert.

Mikey was a big fan too. Mikey is a Lhasa apso. Mudcat dedicated "Stray Cat Strut" to him and this dog actually looked up at Mud during the song and wagged his tail. Honest. I think that Mikey's person liked us too, even though we didn't know any of his requests.

And their resident cat, Sam (Samantha....the one with all the litters) decided that while we had the door propped open at the end of the gig would be a good time to sneak outside. I was coming back up the ramp to get more equipment when I saw her on the move and heard everyone inside yelling to get Sam, so I got into baseball player stance to catch a grounder...she was heading right for me and at the last minute, my feet slipped on the wet rug and I started to flip backwards. As I was realigning myself into an upright position, Sam took that opportunity to veer to the left and shot out between me and the door into the night. Wanna bet she has another litter?

7/11 - Cleats

This was a patio gig and all was going well until I started singing "Fire". I had to change the wording at the end from "fire" to "raindrops". Thankfully, there were only about 4 big old bloppy drops and that was it.

Denny came to this gig too, but the trolling was short lived and he settled at a table "back stage" and then moved onto the patio to a corner table all by his own self.

I do believe that Denny should be added to the list of Jake's fans. He thoroughly enjoyed Jake (and I think Jake got quite a kick out of Denny as well).

Speaking of Jake's fans, he had quite the turn out. There were "the guys", Jackie, and her parents. They were the Ohio State table. We sang "Hang On Sloopy" for them and they provided the choreography. We also sang "Amy", but changed it to "Jackie". She was most embarrassed, which I do believe was Jake's intent.

Betty and Bernie were there for a while as well. Hopefully, Betty is able to breath again with out her much needed allergy medications.

Mudcat unintentionally started up a naming pool after he introduced us when he said that he was the player to be named later. I guess people took him literally and it became a contest. Flipper...really????

And we had our absentee request. Wouldn't be a gig without one.

All in all, it seemed that we were very well received since we were asked to play "just one more song" a couple times. The last request was for "Inagaddadavida" and Jake brought down the house with his rendition.

7/10 - Jackalope

Well, it was stuffy again. Not attitude stuffy, but temperature stuffy.

And this time I got to do the gig with bird poop on my back. Nice. Apparently, I leaned back into it on the swing at home before we left, but it wasn't noticed until after we got to the Jackalope. And yes, this time I was wearing white. Oh, well. There was a girl in the bathroom who did her best to try to wash it out for me.

Denny was in town for the weekend, so he had a new place to troll while we sang. He's quite the social butterfly. He finally settled himself at a table with a couple of women who actually didn't seem to mind his invasion. It was hard to keep track of him even from our perspective where we could see everyone.

Shortly after we began, I was looking out at the dock and noticed the mast of a particular sail boat swaying back and forth and I immediately looked around to see if Denny was missing. I spotted him, so it was someone else who was having fun.

There was a couple who was having fun, but not the same kinda fun as the people on that boat were having. These two were dancing and singing. They stayed up there for 3 or 4 songs. The guy got quite a kick out of Jake saying, "the salt, the salt" during "Margaritaville".

Oh yeah, and Jake played the slide tonight (not the slide in the play area, but the slide for his guitar). It was quite a treat!

Some boys came up and sang "I Don't Want To Fade Away" at the end of the evening. They were a show all by themselves (after a bazillion shots and some beer, who wouldn't be?).

7/4 - Meadows Neighborhood Fireworks

Another great 4th of July celebration with Vic and Amy as the hosts with the most! They made sure that we were well tended to, starting with offering us water or vodka....we chose water. Every possible effort was made for us to be happy. Once again ~ felt kinda like a rock star.

We did our best with "Bye, Bye Blackbird" to make Mary Lou happy and Mudcat also sang "Crazy" for her.

The Miley Cyrus tribute band didn't get to play, because we thought those little girls would be bold like last year and just come on up to sing and they thought we were going to announce them. They looked all hurt when we were tearing down and one of the girls asked "what about our group?". If it weren't for the fact that we were under the gun to get packed up before the fireworks started, we would have had them come up and do a couple of songs with their official Miley Cyrus guitars. Hey, you can't play her stuff on just any guitar.

It was dark by the time we got everything packed up and Jake decided to use that opportunity to revive one of his childhood games of "catch the light" or something like that...can't remember exactly what he called it, but it involves shining a flashlight on the ground and telling the kids to step on it and then of course moving it to another spot the second their little feet make it to the light. Then he made it shine on the girls and told them in a frantic tone that the light was on them and of course the girls squealed and tried to get the light off of them. It was most entertaining.

We stayed for the fireworks and thought we had picked the perfect spot, which we did for fireworks viewing, but then there was Zeb. Not Zebadiah, just Zeb. Oh yeah, Zeb was a talker. A talker with only one descriptive in his vocabulary...that would be the F word. The fireworks there were the worst f...ing fireworks he had ever seen and he should have gone to Orville, because they have great fireworks there ~ way better than these f...ing fireworks. After about the 5th time of hearing this, I suggested that he f...ing leave. He didn't.

Then there was the girl from two doors down, not 3 Doors Down (as talker boy kept pointing out) and her friend who were trying in vain to master the art of bantering.

Zeb is 29 years old, never been married, no girlfriend, and no kids (that he knows of...). At one point, Zeb proposed the idea that perhaps his parents were doing acid when they had him...sure would explain a lot. He really should have gone to Orville.

6/27 - Jackalope



This time the back "wall" (folding glass doors) of the patio was open as well as both side garage type doors, but the weirdest thing was that it was stuffy in there even though we were technically outside. Maybe because the ceiling fan was off and the air was just stuck in there, maybe because the place was packed with an extra table added in so that we were only about 2 feet away from the person sitting at the front table. Whatever the reason, we were warm.


When we came back from our break, I asked one of the servers if she would have their music turned off so that we could start again. She made that happen, but it came back on after a couple songs into that set. Trying to do our music at the same time their music was playing completely unnerved me...I felt like I had to pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time, while holding a tambourine in one hand and the maracas in the other. So, I just stopped in the middle (actually didn't even make it to the middle) of "Gold Dust Woman". Because I was already way too warm and feeling way too closed in when the music competition started, I got cranky and that's not good for anybody. Apparently that server chick got a pretty good sense of my crankiness and she apologized profusely, then scurried off to remedy things before I snapped.

But we got to see the heron again (I'm choosing to believe that it's the same guy each time) and a lovely sunset. There were no broken guitar strings, and Jake's guitar and I remained separate from each other this time. And I got a new toy ~ a cabasa (not to be confused with a Polish sausage), which is quite a lot of fun! So, it wasn't a completely annoying gig after all.

3 gigs in 24 hours! Seriously. The Enclave on 6/19 then both the Skyway and Mojo's Coffee House on 6/20. Good thing we have over 250 songs in our repertoire so we didn't have to do cookie cutter gigs. Each one was unique. So, grab a big cup of coffee....it's gonna be a long post.

6/19 - Enclave

Thankfully, the changes that Timothy L. Vegas is making to the joint are not changing the Enclave feel...fresh coat of paint everywhere and the stage is now giant sized....we like that. The main change, which I think is a great idea is that they are now open until 3:00am on Friday and Saturday. So get your drunk asses over to the Enclave to sober up before you head home... providing that you're already in Willoughby.

Kayla sang back up on her favorite song ("If I Only Had A Brain") and we changed "Layla" to "Kayla" just for her.

Our sketcher friend was there again. I really need to get the nerve up to ask him to look at his sketches during our breaks.

I'm hoping that the artwork that used to adorn the walls at the Enclave will be coming back once the paint is dry. We look forward to seeing what's new each time we're there.

Jake had a wee bit of a breakdown when he discovered that his favorite poster was gone, but don't worry....he'll be alright.

6/20 - Skyway

This was at the airport in Put-In-Bay (not on the runway, silly ~ at the bar) for a Browns' Backers charity rib cook off. Once those ribs got goin', the scents were just heavenly, but also somewhat torturous, because we had to wait until our break to have any.

While we were waiting to be let in to set up, Mudcat found a 4 leaf clover for me. How cool is that? I saved it to press when I got home, but it did not like being in the van in the blazing sun and it dried up. But don't you crafters worry your pretty little heads...I stuck it in a bowl of water when I eventually got back home and it took a while, but it rehydrated itself. Figured the worst that could happen is that it didn't work and I'd end up destroying it in the process and seein' how it was already to that point I gave it a shot.

We were scheduled to play from 11:00 - 3:00 and then another band was supposed to take over for the afternoon/evening. That band cancelled at the last minute and we were asked to play longer. We ended up playing longer, but only until 4:15, because we had to catch the ferry back in order to make it to the Mojo's Coffee House gig. Well, Mudcat and I took the ferry back....Jake flew back in the Project Mojo Corporate Plane with Col. Smoker, who's entrance could have been scripted. While we were making announcements of 50/50 raffles, Col. Smoker (a.k.a. Jake's dad) made his entrance, so Mudcat announced that too.

Rod Hood and Felix Wright were there to sign autographs and mingle. A couple of Pittsburgh players made their appearance too and remarkably, no blood was shed. Jake changed the lyrics of "down by the river, I shot my baby" to "down by the river, I shot a Steeler" and I think the Dawgs appreciated it. Oh, yeah ~ Dawg Pound Mike was there and also the Dawg Bone Lady...see~

This Mojo is so savagely Caucasian that by the time 4:15 rolled around you couldn't tell where my red shirt ended and my skin began (and that was with SPF50 sunblock). Yeah, I got a little crispy, but the good thing was that the weather did a complete turn around from the morning, otherwise I don't know what they would have done or where they would have put everyone.

6/20 - Mojo's Coffee House

So, we make it back just in time to set up again. Oddly enough, Jake got there about 3 seconds after we did even though he flew back while we drove back, but he flew into Medina and had to drive back out and we just drove directly in from the ferry.

We were all so tired that we could barely see straight. I think that if Jake would have closed his eyes he would have fallen asleep standing up.

Betty and her crew were at this gig, so that was a nice treat for us (hopefully for them too).

And Don was back and stayed for the duration. It was nice to see him again.

It was a pretty uneventful gig or if it wasn't I was just way too tired to either care or remember.

So, there ya have it ~ a Mojo marathon.

6/13 - Crabby Joe's

What a great place for a gig! The water's edge, under a spacious canape and on a stage. We felt like rock stars (well, one of us did).

Everyone seemed to like us with the singing along and the tips, not to mention the manager telling us that we sounded great. I think those are pretty good indications that we did alright.

Apparently some boys on Pooh Bear's fishing charter did alright too. Hey, I didn't make up the name. If I had it would have been something fishy....Anyway, when they came back in from their excursion the head Pooh Bear took their cooler of fish and proceeded to hang the fish on the display board for the charter and then took the boys' picture with the hanging fish. Yeah, I don't think the people who were eating at the time enjoyed that as much as the boys who caught the fish did. Kind of made me rethink having the walleye, but I had it anyway.

We got to see some Canadians out for a family jaunt. As in geese, not people. The wee ones were so cute, all fluffy and waddling around. The teenage Canadians...not so cute. Their gangling selves looked like they had no desire to be seen with mom and dad, let alone their younger siblings. Gosh, sounds like us. Anyway, they wandered around while mom scolded us (we were there first) and then went back into the water.

There were also 2 swans (although one of us thought they were ducks). They were absolutely beautiful, but they kept their distance from us. At least they didn't scold us.

And then the sun set....enter mayflies into the Project Mojo equation (3 mojos + 8 billion mayflies = 1 messed up mojo). Pretty sure that Jake will not become an entomologist.

Everything was fine while it was still daylight, they just sort of milled about. But after the sun set they gravitated toward the lights (specifically our lights on stage). Thankfully we were just about finished. Mudcat ended up looking like one of those statues with birds all over it. He was covered in mayflies along with his guitar and his mic stand. One mayfly became a part of Mud's guitar during one of his songs. It was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it lived a full life (considering their life span is only 24-ish hours).

They ended up turning off the lights inside the bar to try to keep the mayflies out. Thankfully, they didn't close the big overhead door to keep us out.

6/12 - Jackalope

This was a patio-ish gig. Their main patio area is all enclosed with glass panels for the back wall and glass garage type doors on each end that were open, so it was pretty much like being outside. The side patio was all open and what a lovely view...

Lake Erie isn't so eerie is it?

We also got to see a heron just hangin' out on the pier until he took off to find another spot to roost. I think a heron in flight is as close to seeing a pterodactyl as we'll ever get.

Now on to more important stuff ~ food. Their desserts looked absolutely scrumptious. Jake and I wanted to be dessert judges in the worst way. I also wanted to get one of each to take home. Maybe the next time we play there (that would be Sat, June 27th from 9:00 - midnight) I can work out some sort of trade....kinda like "will work for food". Hey, the worst they can say is no.

We had a pretty steady crowd and everyone seemed to enjoy the music. That's always a plus. There was a group dining inside who came out to finish their drinks and sing and dance. They were a lot of fun. My favorite thing about them was the girl who requested "Mercedes Benz" and sang the line "I wait for delivery" as "I work for deliverance".

There's something about Jake's guitar....this time I didn't touch it, but somehow got myself hooked on it. Kinda like hooked on phonics, but different. The deliverance girl had to free me. How fitting.

Jake had his first (and I'm sure he hopes his last) encounter with midges, although the amount at the Jackalope paled in comparison to the ones at the Red House.

Ooh, and there were magic fairies flying around. Fine then, they weren't really magic and/or fairies...just some sort of cotton like puffs from the trees. But isn't it way more fun to picture magic fairies than cotton like tree puffs?

They have a really cute play area that looks like a boat. Of course, I wanted to go play on it and Jake being the mature one (well, compared to me that's not saying much) scoffed at my idea and asked me if I didn't think that was being a little bit childish. It's being child-like, not child-ish.

Remember that you can't do anything about getting older, just don't ever get old.

5/29 - Scorekeepers

It's a patio gig and the sun is blazing hot, so we set up and sweat through it....for a while.

But let's back up to how it all started with bad omens ~

The guy who booked us wasn't in yet and no one else seemed to know what to do with us. So, Mudcat waited it out until a phone call was made to give us clearance to proceed. Maybe these people should be working for Home Land Security or Border Patrol.

We get all set up and we're ready to start and a string on Jake's guitar breaks. I swear I had nothing to do with it.

The bartender tells us that every day for the past 3 days she's been scheduled outside and every day for the past 3 days the weather forecast made no mention of rain and every day for the past 3 days it's poured down rain.

Enough bad omens for ya? Here's what happened ~

There's a fundraiser going on inside for Shelly, who has breast cancer so we had a lot of people coming out to hear us and then going back in to hear the DJ announce someone else's ticket number as a winner.

While they're outside listening to us, I start to notice that most everyone is looking up at the sky and pointing. Of course I had to turn around and look up too and I saw that the sky had turned most angry indeed. It certainly took the mystery out of why it stopped being so blazing hot.

Then we feel a couple of rain drops...no big deal. Then we hear some claps of thunder...no big deal. Then the lightning...starting to be a deal. Then we found out just how angry the sky really was. We're talking no amount of anger management could have helped.

I tried to grab an umbrella from one of the tables, but couldn't budge it. The boys tried to help and it still wouldn't budge. Then one guy who was making his way inside stopped and suggested that we move the table over...the edge of the umbrella was under the overhang. In our defense, we're musicians not engineers.

So now we're the only ones still on the patio, stuck under the umbrella with all the equipment scootched into a jumble, the rain is coming down in a torrent, the thunder and lightning are putting on quite an audio/visual show and Mudcat turns into Carl Spackler and announces that the heavy stuff won't be coming down for a while.

Jake is appointed "runner" to get the equipment inside. He became instantly drenched. Eventually, Mudcat helps him and he becomes instantly drenched. I played the girl card and stayed under the umbrella (hey, one of us had to hold it up and since I was still dry it seemed like the logical choice).

Now comes the task of de-jumbling all the equipment and drying everything off with the towels that Mudcat has in his Mojo survival kit. He must have been a boy scout, because he's always prepared, although I think adding a canape to the mix for future outdoor gigs might just earn him a merit badge.

Betty came to Jake's rescue with more dry towels and dry clothes and Mudcat took one of our Project Mojo t-shirts to change into, but both boys were still soaked.

Just then, Joan shows up to hear us play. Great timing girlie. Had a barley soda with her and chatted for a bit while trying to help dry stuff off and re-organize.

And because the fundraiser peeps had their very own DJ we were sent home, but not before he called a winning ticket number and the girl who had that ticket came up to us to turn it in for her prize. Have another beer.

5/24 - The Treehouse

This was a patio gig, but the TV's were all inside (stupid, stupid, stupid basketball). And apparently there were no smokers there or they decided to quit cold turkey. I take that back, we did see about 4 tables worth of smokers on the patio....as we were driving away.

We did have some supporters, though. There was a couple who stayed longer than their dogs at home would have liked and there was a girl who was walking home from dropping her car off at the garage and heard us, so she decided to stop in for a bit.

I'm thinkin' that because it was Memorial Day weekend, the Cavs were playing and it was just a wee bit cool for hangin' out on the patio with no heaters, oh yeah and the Greek festival was going on down the street AND the Taste Of Cleveland was happening, we really did okay with the number of people who were there.

A lot of people stopped on the street (sidewalk) to listen to a few songs before moving on, even from the other side of the street. The best part was when Jake went to investigate. He went across the street, sat down on the church steps (see mom, your son does go to church!) and came back to report that it sounded pretty much the same from across the street as it did up close and personal. That BOSE system is pretty great.

Almost forgot about the people in the adjoining patio who were enjoying a spirited game of corn hole. One of their players came up to sing. She and Jake did a duet.

So, everything is going along all fine and well and we see a helicopter circling above and circling and circling some more. It also seemed that we were in the very middle of that circle. I was beginning to think that ASCAP is a pretty serious business or that Mark and Little Pat were somewhere close by.

5/22 - Glenwillow Grille

Despite the Cavs requiring everyone's attention, we still pulled off a pretty good gig. Apparently Cavs fans can multi task, because they seemed to be paying attention to us as well (and not just during the commercials).

And here's a wee bit of history for you ~ the building that houses the Glenwillow Grille was the general store for Austin Powder. Not Austin Powers...Austin Powder (the gun powder guy).
Mike (the owner) was able to keep the original woodwork and the wood walls. I wonder if old Austin ever played the guitar out on the porch...

We made a new friend. Karla, with a K (she was very, very specific about that). I couldn't quite get the importance of our knowing how to spell her name. I almost felt obligated to write her a note. Almost.

And now I think I know why our Last Call friends are thusly named. It's not because they stick around until last call, it's because they don't get there until then. Lighten up Francis, I'm just yuckin'.

5/16 - Mojo's Coffee House

It was the Mojos at Mojo's...pretty clever, huh? Well, I was there too, but I was the one taking the picture. Of course I couldn't have thought to have Betty take the picture before she left. Oh well, it's always something.

And Betty brought a crew. THANK YOU! Grandma Jake was there too. Very nice to have you all.

Although it was nice to have all of you there, the highlight of the evening had to be when we met Don King from The Outsiders ("Time Won't Let Me"). I'm calling it my brush with greatness. He's a very nice man and he's working on a documentary about Cleveland bands. Looking forward to seeing that. Don said that he plans to have it out by Christmas, so keep your eyeballs pealed for that as well as Santa.

Oh, I know what else ~ there's a book shelf at Mojo's where you can leave a book and take a book. I wanted to take a book on the honor system that I'd bring one later, but I controlled my own self (well, Jake helped too). The book was called Mojo and it was all about music. Now, don't you think that Jake should have let me take it? Fine then. I suppose it is appropriate for them to have it there.

Ooh....and Mojo's (the coffee house, not the book or us)makes some pretty kick ass peanut butter cookies!

5/8 - Brewsters

We passed by the Plain Dealer building on the way to Brewsters and there was a Canadian (as in fowl, not person) standing right on the edge of the roof. It was way more amusing seeing it for real than telling you about it now. Never mind.

Anyway, it's been a while since we played at Brewsters and their remodelling looks great!

Once again, we had a patio gig and it rained. We set up inside and the second we got done setting up, the rain stopped and most everyone went back out to the patio. Can't blame them, that's where we wanted to be too, but the radar showed lots of green and yellow so we stayed indoors.

We had a few tables of people who stuck it out inside with us for a while, but eventually they moved on and by the end of the gig there were only a handful of people in the bar.

Oopsie, almost forgot about the bowlers who high fived each other EVERY time one of them got a strike.

And here's an actual conversation between some chick and me when we came back from our break and were ready to start up again ~

Some Chick: You guys should play outside.

Me: Well...we were supposed to, but it was raining when we set up. We just checked the radar and there's still too great of a threat for rain so we have to stay inside.

Some Chick: You guys should play outside.

Me: Let's review....

Seriously, that was our conversation. And then, without another word she exited stage left. Hmmm....I wonder if she knows Mike (see Patio gig post).

5/2 - Moonlite Tavern

This was our first time at the Moonlite and they liked us so much that they invited us back! That's such a good feeling. So, if you missed us on the 2nd, we'll be back on the 30th.

We had an actual stage to set up on. We like that. This one had mirrors all around it, which Jake was loving because he got to see his fingers workin' those strings from another person's perspective. I did not like the mirrors, because it reminded me of a work out room at the gym (well, from what I hear anyway) and I was a wee bit concerned that we were going to be the unwitting participants in a jazzercise routine. As it turned out, we weren't. Whew....

And Mudcat was loving the set up not so much for the mirrors, but for the flat screen TV pointed right at him so that he could watch the NASCAR race while we were playing. I like watching NASCAR for the pit crew and the wrecks (but only if no one is hurt...settle down).

Here's something you just don't see every day, at least not anymore ~ a pay phone on the wall.
There's something about a phone that has a receiver, a cord and is actually bigger than my thumb that I find comforting, not to mention that you have to stay in one place while you're using it. I really need to stop now, because I sound like I'm about to go into the rant of having to walk uphill both ways to school....barefoot...in the snow....and let me tell you, it was no picnic!

So, here's the thing I don't get ~ this guy was playing a video game of some sort, but before he started he pulled a chair over, stood on it and hung his keys from one of the ceiling beams. I thought maybe it was a safety feature that if he was too drunk to climb back up on the chair at the end of the night to retrieve his keys, then he would ask for the bartender to call him a cab (I've always wanted some poor drunk slob to ask me that so that I could say "okay, you're a cab". And yes, then I would call a cab to come and get them...geesh, I'm not that mean). Turns out that he just needed a place for his keys while playing the game. Here's an idea ~ how about your pants pocket, buddy?

5/1 - Rider's Inn



Well, Samantha, the resident cat made it to her 40th litter...yeah, 40th. Kinda brings a whole new meaning to the words "cat house".



This was a duo gig, because of limited band space, so Jake got the night off.



We had some hangers on (people who stayed after they finished eating), which was nice. At least we know they liked us.

Rob and his entourage were there just for the barley sodas (and us). They stayed for the duration. Thanks, boys!

All in all it was a pretty uneventful gig, but sometimes we need those to balance out the Mikes of the world (see Patio gig post).

4/25 - The Room

Sorry for the delay in writing this, but there are an awful lot of shiny things around to distract me. Okay, here we go ~

This was a slow night, probably because of the weather...yeah, let's go with that. However, everyone really liked us. Especially Rachel and that's a way good thing since she's the one who booked us!

Jake made some new friends. The boys were most impressed with him and with good reason.

Bernie was there to offer his support. Thanks!

At one point during our break, the conversation turned into a "who's on first" kinda thing. Who knew that Mrs. Robinson could cause such a ruckus? The song, not the person.

There was a guy at the bar who ordered some sort of shot and after he downed it, grimaced like I've never seen and promptly sucked on a lemon wedge. Then he nodded his approval to Allison, the bar goddess. Now, I don't know about you guys but I think that sort of compliment just wouldn't fly outside of the bar. Could you imagine having someone react like that to a gourmet meal that you prepared or after tasting brownies that you made from scratch (special or regular), or worse yet, after a kiss?

And then there was the guy who kept getting up from the bar and going over to a table where his backpack was. He rooted around with what looked like a bag of potato chips then messed around with some contraption, went back to the bar for a moment and then went outside. Turns out that it was a bag of tobacco and the contraption was a gizmo to roll cigarettes. It only took me 3 times of him doing this to figure it out....anyway, I have to wonder just how fresh you need the tobacco in your cigarette to be when you're going to light it on fire and then inhale the smoke into your lungs. Why wouldn't you just roll a bazillion at home before you head out and put them in a handy dandy carrying case? Guess you have to be a smoker to get it.

Speaking of smoking, it seemed that my songs were timed perfectly to everyone's nicotine call (at least I'm hoping that it was the call and not my singing that drove them out). Anyway, each time it happened the bar emptied out with only Bernie left. Then I started to wonder if it might not be him...

Just yuckin'.

4/18 - The Patio Bar

No, we didn't play on the patio (but at least they had one).

Where to start? I guess with our new friend, Mike. This guy had the stature of Danny Devito and the personality of Ernest T. Bass with a wee bit of Ed Norton thrown in for good measure.
Keeping that in mind, try to imagine this one sided conversation we had with him (we were there and it's still hard for us to believe). He opened with, "I love Jesus. I mean, I appreciate what he did for me and all, but I'm a government man. I really love the government. They plow my street when it snows...Jesus never did that for me, they pay for hurricanes and floods (I'm assuming he meant for the clean up of the aftermath of hurricanes and floods not for the actual sending them part), and I love cigarettes. Cigarettes and alcohol. Especially cigarettes (as he took a moment to contemplate the cigarette in his hand rapidly burning down). Woo-wee, that wind!" (I'm hoping that he switched back to the hurricane part of his tale).

And he was the self designated requester of songs. My favorite request was, "play some Garfunkel". Mudcat told him that we didn't know any Garfunkel songs that he did by himself, but we'd be glad to do some Simon and Garfunkel. "NO, NO, NO....not them....you know...Garfunkel". Oh so too very scarily, I was able to follow his train of thought as it was derailing and offered up Grand Funk Railroad. "YEAH, YEAH, that's it...play them". So, we played Simon and Garfunkel.

This place was a nice little neighborhood bar and if you have an aversion to the law, then you would have got your $6 worth of sin taxes out of the way in one evening.

I kind of felt like being at the kids' table during Thanksgiving, providing the kids' table was in a separate room from the adults. They at least came in to check on us every now and then, which prevented us from creating our own little coup. We tried, though.

At one point, Mike came in with a few other people and told us to connect with the crowd as he gestured toward himself and the others, then promptly went out on the patio and closed the door behind them.

And speaking of coups, you guessed it ~ another Mike story. We took a break and sat at the adults' table, just a few bar stools down from him. The bar was a squared off U shape and sitting directly across from Mike were a few Hispanic boys. Yeah, we thought it might get ugly too, because Mike was well into his love of alcohol via Jagermeister and Bud. He raised his beer bottle and shouted USA!, USA!. Then he told the Hispanic boys to raise their bottles too. When they didn't, he stared speaking his version of Spanish to them. Jake's favorite part of this one sided exchange was when Mike asked them if they worked and one of the boys started speaking real Spanish back to him. The only thing I could glean from it was the word "loco". Then Mike decided that he needed to really be friends with them, so he meandered over to their side of the bar where he could carry on his ramblings up close and personal, which was about the time we went back to the relative safety of our kids' table.

Oh, and he was quite the "dancer". Jake and I were trying to decide if he was actually dancing or just doing his best to stay upright. At one point, both attempts failed...but our new friend Mike is a trooper. He did a quick save by rerouting his oneness with the chair, which was soon to be a oneness with the floor and lunged the chair and himself toward us (thankfully, there was plenty of room for him to work his magic) and then started "dancing" around the chair. Kind of like dancing with a broom, but as polar as one can get from Gene Kelly.

So, I guess all in all Mike was the real entertainment for the evening. They could have saved some money and just booked him....