3/12 - BW3, Broadview Hts

Lots of peeps there for the basketball games who actually stuck around! Guess March Madness has its up side.

Tons of thanks to Jake's entourage and to Betty and HazMat Bernie for being part of the madness.

The most exciting news bite is that Jake seems to have rounded the bend and is on his way back to being human again from his lengthy battle with the bug. Welcome back!

3/11 - Claddagh Pub

Thanks to Mark & Gina for venturing out! Glad you're starting to feel better, Gina. And Mark, you are just way too funny with your song remakes. Thanks for making me laugh.

And speaking of song remakes ~ Mudcat was on a roll with them, especially turning "Layla" into "Laundry". Did you know that Eric Clapton did his own laundry at a real life laundromat while he was in LA? We didn't either until Jake told us about the video snippet, which clearly shows that Mr. Clapton has mastered the art of shirt folding. Wonder how he is at origami...

Our "stage" was certainly a new and different twist for us. Having closed the section in which we were to set up in direct line of the open kitchen, it was a true test for the Bose to see if it could broadcast around corners to the people who were seated at the bar.

3/5 - Riverside Wine

What a lovely treat to have Jake back with us! Not quite the picture of health, but at least he's upright.

Thanks to Betty and Bernie for making it out. It's always great to have your support.

People seemed to be enjoying themselves and us (which is always a plus). One guy who was sitting off to the side of us came up after I sang "White Rabbit". He asked who sang that song and in all my smart-ass-ish-ness said, "I just did, didn't you hear me?". Hahahahaha...I crack my own self up. It was Gracie Slick, by the way.

During the break, I headed off to the ladies' room, but it was occupied, so I stepped back to wait my turn. As I was waiting, I noticed the sign that's usually at the front of restaurants....Please Wait To Be Seated. I wonder if someone there had a sense of humor or if its placement was just a koinkidink. Either way, it made me chuckle warmly.

2/27 - Trading Post

Definitely a way better summer time gig, since those bikers are pretty strict about not introducing their bikes to road salt. And who can blame them? But there were a few truck driving bikers who ventured out for their Sunday afternoon libation.

And to entice them out during the winter, a new video game has been added. It's called "Turkey Hunter USA". To shoot the birds, simply use the safety orange rifle that is tethered to the game. Apparently, the biker boys would rather try to "win" a stuffed animal from the claw machine. That's a very popular game. And the amount of stuffed animals in that game did not diminish during our stay, but the amount of money in that machine sure did increase.

If the boys get tired of talking to each other or watching TV or listening to us, they can choose from a variety of reading material found in the magazine rack by the door (the main door, not the bathroom door).

One of the boys decided to actually pay attention to us and requested that we play some White Snake. When ever we get requests, we do our best to accommodate and this was no exception. If a White Snake song was what this guy wanted then a White Snake song we would do. So I sang Mama Cass' "Dream A Little Dream". That's pretty close, right?

2/26 - Cebar's Euclid Tavern

Nope, not the same Light of Day joint, two very different Euclid Taverns.

We didn't realize that there was a band playing before us (hey, we were the headliner with an opening act!) until we got there and started to unload equipment. It was a most disconcerting experience. Turns out we weren't bumped nor was the other band our opening act.

We thought that everyone would leave once those boys pulled up stakes and moved on, but people hung around and really seemed to enjoy themselves.

I would have enjoyed myself more had Jake been with us. Pretty sure he would have enjoyed himself more to be playing his guitar on a stage for a near full house rather than being home with a fever, coughing up a lung.

2/19 - The Pub

It's always a great time at The Pub! The food is dee-lish, the beer is cold and Matt and his crew are always super nice.

Thanks to Betty, Sue, Jeff, Rita, and Eric for coming out to show your support, but more importantly thanks for enduring the 40 minute wait for a table.

Ooh...did you see the full moon and/or did you howl? I sure did. While I was howling, Jake turned into a werewolf. I was a wee bit terrified. It's just not something you see every day (or every full moon). Hopefully he's back to normal by now.

And if you missed us this time around, don't you worry your pretty little head ~ just come back on April 23rd, which is the next time we'll be playing The Pub.

2/12 - Euclid Tavern

Yes, the same Euclid Tavern where "Light of Day" was filmed. So, I guess in a round-about way we shared a stage with Joan Jett ("girls have balls, they're just up a little higher that's all") and Michael J. Fox ("pain is temporary, film is permanent").

Thanks to Lightnin' for sitting in with us. What fun! And thanks to Gina for being our photographer and our support.

If you were thinking about voting for the green man, then Rafael is the name to look for, not Charlie. He was the green man on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". Two very different kinds of green.

We truly did meet East Side Chuck. Truly. And his name was actually Chuck. I had just finished singing "Dream Boat Annie" when Chuck asked me when we would be back again, so I told him that we won't be back for a while. I crack my own self up.

Oh yeah, Jake was a whore. I mean H-O-R. Oopsie.

2/11 - Scoreboards

Scoreboards or Union Sation? You make the call. We were at Scoreboards....Bernie was at Union Station. Thanks, Dave for keeping Bernie company and for your support as well.

At first glance, the dads bringing their daughters in for a Valentine's dinner was cute, but as I watched the girls try to make their way to the bathroom, that cuteness quickly diminished. The girls couldn't have been more than 9-ish and they were done up like prom queens. Clearly they had been taken to the salon to have their hair and make up done. They were wearing fancy dresses and both girls were trying to walk in high heels. What in the world are they going to have to look forward to when they're grown? Oh well, that's just my opinion.

And you know you're in the country when people ride their snowmobiles to the bar. A group in full snow mobile attire stopped in. Maybe the place is a biker bar in the summer and a snowmobiler bar in the winter. Seemed to work.

1/29 - BW3, Broadview Hts

WE MISSED YOU, BETTY! Oh yeah...we missed you too, Bernie. But, don't worry about us....we were alright. Barely.

Nothing much to write home about on this one. We had to wait for stupid, stupid, stupid basketball to finish before we could start. I so enjoy basketball. Or not.

Paul was gracious, as always. Thanks, Paul!

That's it.

1/28 - Whole Foods

We got to be on the other side of the store in the nuts and dried fruit aisle and that section made for much less people watching. Not that there weren't people stocking up on nuts and fruits, but that was the only aisle we could see. Our usual spot was being used as one of the tasting stops during the 5 x 7. There's just a lot more going on in the bakery/deli/dairy/salad bar section.

As always, there were some cutie kids. Our new little friend, Giana played the maracas for a bit, but only after she gave the tambourine a test drive.

And we owe a debt of gratitude to Chris (a.k.a. East Side Chuck). So ~ gosh thanks, Chris....we never could have got there on our own.

1/20 - Fat Little Buddies

Aside from the nuclear heat setting on their thermostat, it was a most pleasant place. And I have it from an"old" man that it's a fairly common bar trick to keep the heat set at scorch to get people hot, so they'll drink more to cool off. Yeah....I don't know, it seemed like I drank about a gallon of water and didn't get any cooler. Perhaps if I had replaced the water with beer then even if I didn't cool off, I wouldn't have cared so much about being warm.

And I discovered that Bernie is a man of many talents. One such talent being the ability to close his van door without leaving the comfort of his bar stool. I think it might have been magic.

1/15 - Riverside Wine

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This was our first gig of 2011 and what a nice (and oddly interesting) way to start ~ Riverside Wine is a wine store (don't despair, they also have beer), but with a twist. They have a bar at one end and tables at the other end. Imagine a Convenient store turned wine store; the bar takes the place of the check out area, the tables take the place of the produce section and wine bottles take the place of everything that's on the shelves.

And you can get food there too, provided you get the cheese plate as that's the only item on the menu.

I'm looking forward to playing back there in the spring/summer when we can be on the deck. I do believe the deck area is bigger than the entire store. The deck overlooks the Cuyahoga with a train track at the top of the bank on the other side of the crooked river.

And wouldn't you know it ~ I went outside to check out the view and 3 seconds after I came back inside, a train went by. I was bummed. Went back outside after we packed up and it was deja vu all over again (thank you, Yogi Berra)...as we were pulling out of the parking lot, a train went by. DAMMIT!

Six of the people who were enjoying their wine and cheese plates were the girls of Girls' Night Out, who were quite the chair dancers and back up singers from afar. They also did all the moves for "Stop In The Name Of Love" and they joined us for "Bobby McGee". Thanks, girls!

And thank you, Bernie for supporting us on our ground breaker gig of the new year (and for requesting/insisting/demanding the encore).

12/11 - Wing Warehouse

Our last gig of 2010 and it had to be here.

Warehouse describes this place, but an empty warehouse describes it better.

It was the best of gigs, it was the worst of gigs. Well, I'm half right.

11/20 - Sammy K's

What a neato-peato place this was....kinda like 3 joints all rolled into one. Ooops, wrong kinda joint. You know what I mean.

Anyway, there was an interesting mix of people. Most interesting were the ballroom dancers (after all, we are a ballroom band). Seriously, they really were ballroom dancers, complete with coordinating outfits and special dancing shoes that they changed into after their arrival. I was impressed with their moves, but was scared that the guy was going to loose his grip and drop the girl head first onto the floor. Thankfully, that didn't happen. And you haven't lived until you've seen the ballroom dance version of "Folsom Prison Blues". We have.

Their patio bar is open year round. It's like its own Private Idaho and I was not convinced that we were actually outside.

Oh, and how could I forget to mention our new friend, Al? According to Al, one of his closest friends is Joe Walsh, whom he opened for at the old Hullabaloo (hey, if I remember that place then so do you....we're not that old!). He also took his kids to see Joe play at the old Front Row (again....remember that place?) and they got together back stage to sing to Joe and share some "back in the day" stories. So, we did some James Gang and Eagles tunes for Al, which seemed to make him happy....although that could have been the beer.

11/6 - Mojo's Coffee House

As always, pretty low key.

The regulars were there, some even hung out for a song or two before taking their coffee on the road.

One woman came in, got her coffee and left, but returned in moments to sit for a bit, so that was nice.

12/4 - Mojo's Coffe House

Our new friend, Miranda was chief cook and bottle washer.

Crew Cut Colonel & Betty were there and we must apologize to Betty for not doing her favorite song...just yuckin'.

We had a memorable 2010 at Mojo's. Best of luck to all our Coffee Clan in 2011.

10/29 - Whole Foods

This was our first Halloween gig complete with costumes.

Thanks to Karen for stopping by and for pulling up a chair to make her self into and end cap. And because she was in the bakery section, I have to say it ~ nice buns, Karen!

We always have fun at Whole Foods, but this one especially with all the costumes that somehow make us take on a completely different personalities (well, in my case I can just reach in and pick one out....pretty sure I'm host to a multitude. Just call me Cybil).

10/9 - The Pub

The Pub gig is always a blast and even more so with lots and lots of peep support!



Thanks to Betty & her crew, Anne, Gail, Sugar and Tom Jones.

Of course, the most thanks goes to Matt for having us there in the first place! It's been a great run and we look forward to many more gigs at The Pub in 2011.

10/2 - Mojo's Coffe House

This was our first open mic with the mic being used in quite some time!

Both Amanda and Dave were great, especially Amanda with having a sore throat and all...I never would have known had she not told me, her voice was clear and beautiful.

Thanks to Betty & Bernie for coming out to have some fun with us and as always, your support is greatly appreciated.

9/26 - Trading Post

The bikers...I think we're starting to grow on them.

We must be doing something right when a big, burly guy donned in full leather, including the fingerless gloves that were not removed even for the eating of the hot dog, sings along to "girl" songs. And I don't mean that he just mouthed the words while watching TV, but he sang with so much gusto that we could hear him from about 20-ish feet away. Oh, and let's not forget the choreography. He was quite expressive.


Apparently, underneath all that machoness lies a marshmallow that's been toasted a few times.

He was fun to watch and he was pretty much our entertainment until The Family showed up.


Picture this ~ into this full blown biker bar (remember the padlocked, chain toilet paper holders) walks a mom, dad, teen age daughter, older daughter and her perfect husband....all dressed in OSU attire and as clean cut as a tomato sliced with a Ginsu knife. They make a bee line for the machine with the stuffed animals that you have to scoop up with the claw crane where dad says goodbye to a twenty.

According to Dad, this is their Sunday ritual and throwing modesty to the wind, he informed us that they are quite good at this game, having more stuffed animals at home than they know what to do with.

In the middle of the stuffed animals waiting to be clawed to the top and into The Family's home lies a plastic Harley Davidson with glinting rays of light that only Dad can see radiating off the plastic it's encased in, accompanied by a choir of angels singing the sweetest of songs that only Dad can hear. This is HIS prize. He must have THE BIKE.

The girls win a couple of stuffed animals thanks to Dad and his perfect son-in-law, but not before he surrenders another bill to the claw crane machine. They have a system where everyone gets a turn and they take those turns in a very specific order. Dad's turn has ended and he walks away to give his perfect son-in-law some elbow room for his turn.

Just as Dad takes a sip of his soda pop (the one that he brought into the bar so as not to waste his money on something as frivolous as a drink), the most glorious thing happens ~ Perfect Son-In-Law scoops up the Harley for Dad and at that point, I'm pretty sure I heard the angels singing too. Dad was as happy as a kid at Christmas getting that one thing he just had to have or he would die, which must have been their signal to leave, because as a group The Family paraded past us with their winnings and they were gone.