First, let me say that being at Fox's brought about some mixed emotions for me...some 20 odd years ago I bellied up to that very bar on occasion with my dear friend Marylin, who sadly lost her battle with cancer a few years ago. We threw back a lot of "vodsonics", but more importantly, a lot of laughter. Sorry, Mar ~ I just had a regular vodka/tonic this time around.
Okay, on to the gig ~
Jake was all kinds of happy. Not only did we have a stage (even though his happiness about the stage turned to loathing by tear down time), we also got to play loud. He likes that.
And he got to jam with Lightnin'. Lightnin' sat in with us for the last set and a good time was had by all. Thanks for coming out to play and thank you, Gina for indulging us.
You know how I was on a roll for a while with describing various establishment's bathrooms and then the "interesting" bathrooms were no more? Well, they're baaaaack....
The bathroom door was hand painted with a bouquet of beautiful flowers, which impressed me because this didn't seem like the kind of joint that would have a lovely bathroom. And it isn't, which I discovered once I got beyond the door.
The toilet tank was strapped down with some criss-crossed metal stripping (still not sure what that was all about) and I could still be in that stall reading all the eloquently put thoughts that covered the walls and door.
I just have to share one such thought (the others were pretty much potty mouth stuff and yes, pun intended). Scrawled across one wall was this ~ "Seriously, writing on bathroom walls? Who does that anymore?, which was followed by, "Obviously you do, bitch!", which was followed by, "Sounds like split personality to me".
And how is it that girls can walk in 5-6 inch heels, much less dance in them without snapping their ankles like twigs? I don't know if I could even sit wearing them. I had my day of wearing high heels, but 3" was considered high and 4" was considered CFM. Wonder what the girls are calling theirs (besides a challenge).
A couple (and I do believe that's the operative word here) of girls who were not only sporting the highest of high heels, but who were also wearing swishy little party dresses ("little" because of the girls' stature, but mostly because of the lack-o-material involved in the making of these dresses) danced and sang their hearts out to "Folsom Prison Blues". Not sure if it was the song, the swishing, or perhaps the alcohol, but one of the girls decided to cop a feel and the coppie didn't seem at all surprised nor bothered by this sudden and unexpected (at least to us it was unexpected) PDA.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the variety of songs that we did and the rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits. Wow, I just realized the play on words in that sentence. It would have been pretty clever had it been intentional...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
4/23 - Whole Foods
It still slays me to play in a grocery store, but we did it again and the people shopping there seemed to like our music. Even had an older gentleman dancing in the aisles.
And it also amazes me that for a smart girl (Master's degree....in science), I can be really dippy. I'll try to explain it the best I can for you to get the full effect. Here goes ~
An aisle to the left of us was this woman trying to get her grand daughter, who was sitting in the shopping cart to clap and cart dance, rather than chair dance (ooh, would that be dancing a la carte? I crack my own self up, but I digress...shocking, isn't it?). Anyway, the girl was having none of her grandma's enthusiasm. She was watching us with the most intent look on her face (perhaps she was a bit perplexed about a band in a grocery store).
So, let me clarify that I know with all certainty this woman is the little girls' grandma, because of the obvious age difference, but more so because this little girl was an exact miniature of the woman.
This little girl looked like an older version of the Gerber baby. She had the most beautiful blond hair, big expressive eyes, that little pouty mouth to go with the cheeks that strangers feel compelled to "pinch" and she was wearing what looked like her Easter dress complete with the white tights and white Mary Janes, topped off with a polite little white sweater. So, you see this little girl made quite an impression on me.
The dippy part is coming. Wait for it....wait for it....
After a couple songs of just the grandma dancing and clapping, they make their way down that aisle and out of sight, but in this case it wasn't out of sight/out of mind for me (well, the out of my mind thing pretty much always applies, but you know what I mean).
A few songs later, I look over at the aisle to the right of us where this same grandma is pushing a cart with a little girl wearing the same little Easter outfit, but this little girl is about 3 times bigger than the Gerber Girl and she has black hair. My first thought was that this grandma chick was not paying attention and took the wrong cart with someone else's kid in it and I was horrified at how she wouldn't have noticed.
And then I saw that grandma wasn't alone. The woman with her was clearly her daughter, who looked just like a younger grandma with black hair and an older version of the girl in grandma's new cart and she was pushing the cart with the Gerber Girl. She also had a baby in one of those front papoose things. And the baby looked just like her too. If it weren't for the women's sunny dispositions and the dark hair, they could have been from "Children of the Corn".
So, that's my dippy story.
This grocery store is more like a health food store with just about everything being all natural, organic, or "green" and yet a woman strolled by us with a McDonald's cup, sipping some kind of liquid that probably wasn't all natural or organic....but it might have been green (just not "green"). Clearly, she wasn't a health food nut.
And then there was the guy who had a bag of carrots in his cart. Not just any bag and not just any carrots. This was an industrial size bag, like 50 lbs. And the carrots were giant (maybe they grew next to the Perry power plant). I'm thinking that this guy either has a horse, a really big rabbit named Harvey or a big old juicer at home. Seriously, how much do you have to like carrots to buy that many at one time? Obviously, way more than I like them.
And it also amazes me that for a smart girl (Master's degree....in science), I can be really dippy. I'll try to explain it the best I can for you to get the full effect. Here goes ~
An aisle to the left of us was this woman trying to get her grand daughter, who was sitting in the shopping cart to clap and cart dance, rather than chair dance (ooh, would that be dancing a la carte? I crack my own self up, but I digress...shocking, isn't it?). Anyway, the girl was having none of her grandma's enthusiasm. She was watching us with the most intent look on her face (perhaps she was a bit perplexed about a band in a grocery store).
So, let me clarify that I know with all certainty this woman is the little girls' grandma, because of the obvious age difference, but more so because this little girl was an exact miniature of the woman.
This little girl looked like an older version of the Gerber baby. She had the most beautiful blond hair, big expressive eyes, that little pouty mouth to go with the cheeks that strangers feel compelled to "pinch" and she was wearing what looked like her Easter dress complete with the white tights and white Mary Janes, topped off with a polite little white sweater. So, you see this little girl made quite an impression on me.
The dippy part is coming. Wait for it....wait for it....
After a couple songs of just the grandma dancing and clapping, they make their way down that aisle and out of sight, but in this case it wasn't out of sight/out of mind for me (well, the out of my mind thing pretty much always applies, but you know what I mean).
A few songs later, I look over at the aisle to the right of us where this same grandma is pushing a cart with a little girl wearing the same little Easter outfit, but this little girl is about 3 times bigger than the Gerber Girl and she has black hair. My first thought was that this grandma chick was not paying attention and took the wrong cart with someone else's kid in it and I was horrified at how she wouldn't have noticed.
And then I saw that grandma wasn't alone. The woman with her was clearly her daughter, who looked just like a younger grandma with black hair and an older version of the girl in grandma's new cart and she was pushing the cart with the Gerber Girl. She also had a baby in one of those front papoose things. And the baby looked just like her too. If it weren't for the women's sunny dispositions and the dark hair, they could have been from "Children of the Corn".
So, that's my dippy story.
This grocery store is more like a health food store with just about everything being all natural, organic, or "green" and yet a woman strolled by us with a McDonald's cup, sipping some kind of liquid that probably wasn't all natural or organic....but it might have been green (just not "green"). Clearly, she wasn't a health food nut.
And then there was the guy who had a bag of carrots in his cart. Not just any bag and not just any carrots. This was an industrial size bag, like 50 lbs. And the carrots were giant (maybe they grew next to the Perry power plant). I'm thinking that this guy either has a horse, a really big rabbit named Harvey or a big old juicer at home. Seriously, how much do you have to like carrots to buy that many at one time? Obviously, way more than I like them.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
4/21 - Gobs-o-Gigs
I am so sorry for the delay in gig updates, but in my defence there really are an awful lot of shiny things around here to distract me, which accounts for a couple missed blogs, and then I decided to test out gravity to see if it still works and found out the hard way by breaking my wrist that yes, gravity does still work (do not try this at home...or anywhere else for that matter).
Okay, enough with the excuses and/or whining. Let's get to some serious gig updating. I'll do my best to remember the ghosts of gigs past.
Ready? Here goes ~
3/19 - Old Whedon Grille
Once again stupid, stupid, stupid basketball takes precedence over us....the nerve. But, it wasn't until the very end of the gig that we got shut down. Thankfully, it was a late starting game.
We got there too early to set up, so decided to take a stroll through "Stepford" (and we saw some wives). As we were coming back through the park, we saw a car pull out of a spot directly in front of the bar, so we picked up the pace to cross the street, Mudcat went one way to get the van from the nearest parking space we could find, which was about 3 blocks away and I went the other way to stand in the newly open parking space to hold it for him. I was not only successful in holding the space for him, but I also annoyed a couple people who tried to pull in there, but couldn't, because I was standing right in the middle of it pretending to be completely oblivious to them.
The place we were set up in was wee and there was a TV hanging from the wall right above and somewhat behind Jake's head. It reminded me of Max Headroom. Remember him from the 70's or 80's? Of course Jake had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I'd gone off the deep end (hmmm...I get that look a lot from him).
3/20 - The Pub
Always a fun time and to make it even more fun, Betty & Bernie were there with their entourage and Mike & Sue came with their peeps and Dave & Patti were there too. Jake's friend Chris and his crew were there as well. Lots of good company, but during the break, we felt like a couple at their wedding reception going to each table only getting to spend a brief moment with each person.
It was still a little bit chilly, so the industrial strength ceiling heaters were on full blast, including the one directly above us. I asked the boy who was hostess for the night if he would please turn off our heater. Being that it's high up, this boy had to stand on a chair and stretch to reach the controls (and he's tall to begin with). He was quite reluctant to do it for me, because the uniform for everyone (boys included) is a kilt. He looked down at his kilt, back up at me and asked me if I noticed what he was wearing. I asked him if it was really true then about what's worn (or not worn) under a kilt. He said that he wears boxers under his. He was still reluctant to climb up there and risk having anyone see his underlings. I promised that I wouldn't look up his skirt if he didn't look up mine. He didn't think that was a fair trade, but turned the heater off for us anyway. I can't tell you how tempted I was to say, "nice boxers" after he climbed down, but I refrained.
3/26 - Whole Foods
Missed this gig due to the gravity test, but Mudcat reported that someone did a long distance request and held up their cell phone while he and Jake played their song. And the boys were an end cap this time rather than being set up in the "dining area".
3/27 - Mustard Seed
Once again, missed because I was still nursing my wound and wouldn't ya know it ~ Greg finally makes it out to see us with his son, Elliott and I missed them. He called from there to harass me about sitting at home on the couch with my feet up, eating chocolates and drinking wine. What are friends for?
4/3 - Mojo's Coffee House
Betty & Bernie were there to offer support and this time, Sarah was with them. Since this was our open mic night, we forced Sarah to come up and sing. What a voice that chick has! I was a little concerned that she might be my replacement. Thanks for jamming with us, Sarah. Hope you had as much fun as we did.
4/10 - McCarthy's (Strongsville)
The stage there was giant and multi-levels! What a treat, although I did feel like we were miles apart from each other.
Many thanks to Betty & Bernie for their continued support and for gathering a group together to cheer us on. Sorta felt like rock stars.
Some guy who was clearly feeling no pain decided to invite himself up to "sing" with me.
We had tons of requests and oddly enough, we knew all of them. Ended up playing overtime to get all the requests in, but enjoyed every minute of it.
4/15 - Milestone Bar and Grille
The weather was so nice that pretty much everyone was on the patio....except us.
Our new friend, Karen was a hoot! She stayed for quite a while. If you get a chance, check her out at www.miscellaneousyammering.blogspot.com.
If The Sleeper has a brother, Big Al is him. Pretty scary....
Thanks to Mark & Gina for coming out (and for not sitting on the patio)! Too funny that when they walked in Mud was singing the "Gina works the diner all day" line from "Living On A Prayer".
4/16 - Laurello Winery
I do believe their stage is the smallest stage EVER. We were pretty packed up there and with my wing still in a full arm cast, I kept bumping into Mudcat and had to turn sideways in order to sing and play the maracas at the same time.
For some reason, my mic stand was being a little tipsy and I swore I was going to end the night with a fat lip and/or chipped tooth to go along with my lame wing.
As we were leaving, I caught the toe of my boot on the floor strip going out the door and almost did a pinwheel thing out of there. Jake was behind me and was convinced that I was going down. Hopefully, I sing better than I walk.
4/17 - Mustard Seed
The place was packed all night. Re-mark-able. During our break, we went to the back banquet room to sit and some people actually sought us out to tell us how much they enjoyed us. Pretty cool, huh?
And as always, there was at least one screaming child (hopefully not because of our music) and a "clean up on isle 6" in the grocery store below.
.
.
.
Okay, I'm finally caught up on my gig reports. Did you make it all the way through?
Okay, enough with the excuses and/or whining. Let's get to some serious gig updating. I'll do my best to remember the ghosts of gigs past.
Ready? Here goes ~
3/19 - Old Whedon Grille
Once again stupid, stupid, stupid basketball takes precedence over us....the nerve. But, it wasn't until the very end of the gig that we got shut down. Thankfully, it was a late starting game.
We got there too early to set up, so decided to take a stroll through "Stepford" (and we saw some wives). As we were coming back through the park, we saw a car pull out of a spot directly in front of the bar, so we picked up the pace to cross the street, Mudcat went one way to get the van from the nearest parking space we could find, which was about 3 blocks away and I went the other way to stand in the newly open parking space to hold it for him. I was not only successful in holding the space for him, but I also annoyed a couple people who tried to pull in there, but couldn't, because I was standing right in the middle of it pretending to be completely oblivious to them.
The place we were set up in was wee and there was a TV hanging from the wall right above and somewhat behind Jake's head. It reminded me of Max Headroom. Remember him from the 70's or 80's? Of course Jake had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I'd gone off the deep end (hmmm...I get that look a lot from him).
3/20 - The Pub
Always a fun time and to make it even more fun, Betty & Bernie were there with their entourage and Mike & Sue came with their peeps and Dave & Patti were there too. Jake's friend Chris and his crew were there as well. Lots of good company, but during the break, we felt like a couple at their wedding reception going to each table only getting to spend a brief moment with each person.
It was still a little bit chilly, so the industrial strength ceiling heaters were on full blast, including the one directly above us. I asked the boy who was hostess for the night if he would please turn off our heater. Being that it's high up, this boy had to stand on a chair and stretch to reach the controls (and he's tall to begin with). He was quite reluctant to do it for me, because the uniform for everyone (boys included) is a kilt. He looked down at his kilt, back up at me and asked me if I noticed what he was wearing. I asked him if it was really true then about what's worn (or not worn) under a kilt. He said that he wears boxers under his. He was still reluctant to climb up there and risk having anyone see his underlings. I promised that I wouldn't look up his skirt if he didn't look up mine. He didn't think that was a fair trade, but turned the heater off for us anyway. I can't tell you how tempted I was to say, "nice boxers" after he climbed down, but I refrained.
3/26 - Whole Foods
Missed this gig due to the gravity test, but Mudcat reported that someone did a long distance request and held up their cell phone while he and Jake played their song. And the boys were an end cap this time rather than being set up in the "dining area".
3/27 - Mustard Seed
Once again, missed because I was still nursing my wound and wouldn't ya know it ~ Greg finally makes it out to see us with his son, Elliott and I missed them. He called from there to harass me about sitting at home on the couch with my feet up, eating chocolates and drinking wine. What are friends for?
4/3 - Mojo's Coffee House
Betty & Bernie were there to offer support and this time, Sarah was with them. Since this was our open mic night, we forced Sarah to come up and sing. What a voice that chick has! I was a little concerned that she might be my replacement. Thanks for jamming with us, Sarah. Hope you had as much fun as we did.
4/10 - McCarthy's (Strongsville)
The stage there was giant and multi-levels! What a treat, although I did feel like we were miles apart from each other.
Many thanks to Betty & Bernie for their continued support and for gathering a group together to cheer us on. Sorta felt like rock stars.
Some guy who was clearly feeling no pain decided to invite himself up to "sing" with me.
We had tons of requests and oddly enough, we knew all of them. Ended up playing overtime to get all the requests in, but enjoyed every minute of it.
4/15 - Milestone Bar and Grille
The weather was so nice that pretty much everyone was on the patio....except us.
Our new friend, Karen was a hoot! She stayed for quite a while. If you get a chance, check her out at www.miscellaneousyammering.blogspot.com.
If The Sleeper has a brother, Big Al is him. Pretty scary....
Thanks to Mark & Gina for coming out (and for not sitting on the patio)! Too funny that when they walked in Mud was singing the "Gina works the diner all day" line from "Living On A Prayer".
4/16 - Laurello Winery
I do believe their stage is the smallest stage EVER. We were pretty packed up there and with my wing still in a full arm cast, I kept bumping into Mudcat and had to turn sideways in order to sing and play the maracas at the same time.
For some reason, my mic stand was being a little tipsy and I swore I was going to end the night with a fat lip and/or chipped tooth to go along with my lame wing.
As we were leaving, I caught the toe of my boot on the floor strip going out the door and almost did a pinwheel thing out of there. Jake was behind me and was convinced that I was going down. Hopefully, I sing better than I walk.
4/17 - Mustard Seed
The place was packed all night. Re-mark-able. During our break, we went to the back banquet room to sit and some people actually sought us out to tell us how much they enjoyed us. Pretty cool, huh?
And as always, there was at least one screaming child (hopefully not because of our music) and a "clean up on isle 6" in the grocery store below.
.
.
.
Okay, I'm finally caught up on my gig reports. Did you make it all the way through?
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