Giant Eagle, North Olmsted - 3/22/13

What a fun night! 

Let's see ~ thanks to Joani, Bernie, Dennis, Jane, Brad, and Gayle for stopping out and 
staying for the duration.  I have found that it is actually possible to laugh and sing at the same time. 

Also saw the same little girl who tried to get the dollar back out of the tip bucket the last time we were there.  Oh my goodness, is she cute.  Her hair was done up like Pebbles Flintstone and she watched us by just moving her eyes.  Her head stayed completely still.  She had this serious expression like she was processing everything.  Finally she broke out into a 3 second "dance" and then went back to being serious and eyeballing us again. 

There was a pre-teen girl who made me feel like a rock star, because she kept tugging at her mom's sleeve and pointing over at us and then finally came up closer and took some pictures from her phone, then scurried back to her mom to show her.  Then she was oblivious to us and the world around her while she absorbed herself with whoever was on the receiving end of her text messages. 

I felt like a big star again after the gig when we were doing some grocery shopping (okay, stocking up on wine and beer) and their fishmonger came up to us and asked if we could set up near his counter the next time we play so that he could really hear us.  I have no idea how he recognized us because his area was in the back of the store, around the corner (but not the bar in Lakewood) from where we were set up in the produce section in the front of the store. 

Looking forward to playing back there again in a couple of weeks. 

Tommy's - 3/21/13

Okay, ready....here goes and I'm sparing no detail.  This is exactly what happened ~

























Honest, that's it.

Whole Foods, Beachwood - 3/15/13

Pretty uneventful other than Jake realizing in mid gig that he had another gig right after that he mistakenly thought was the next night.  Thank you, Betty for saving the day for him and bringing the equipment he needed.  You're the way best chick!

We saw some familiar faces, specifically our favorite nameless couple.  Talked with Pia, our new friend and jazz singer after the gig. 

And we saw a couple of celebrities (well, they looked like them anyway)....Gibbs from NCIS and Patrick from Anger Management.  I guess that would make them characters and not the actual celebrities.  Technicalities.

Quarry Hill Winery - 3/9/13

We were a little concerned when we pulled in and found only 2 cars in the parking lot...guess how many people were working then.  If you guessed 2, you would be correct.  I swear it was like one of them called everyone they know and told them to get out there, because shortly after we started playing, the place filled up.  Then we got concerned again when we took our break and people started leaving, but the good news is that the amount of people who left were replaced with the same amount of people, so it was the same packed house but with different faces.

This place is all open with walls-o-windows that look out onto the vineyard and I am really looking forward to going back there in August.  Definitely taking the camera then.   Anyway, it's a big open room with the tables and the bar all together.  A couple older men walk in and take a seat at one of the tables.  They're sitting adjacent to each other with one of the men facing me.  During one of my songs, that man gets up and moves to the other side of the table so that his back is to me.  I felt a little dejected, but then decided that he wanted to watch the TV that was on the wall behind the bar.  After a short time, they both get up and move to the bar.  I mentioned this whole scene to Mudcat to get his take on it and he said that the men were waiting for a spot at the bar to open up.  I never made that connection, because it's usually the other way around where people wait at the bar for a table to open up.  Whatever the real reason, I'm going with this one so that I can believe that it wasn't my singing that caused their move.

Giant Eagle, North Olmsted - 3/8/13

I think their dining under the tower food and wine  tasting (although this time it was beer) is starting to catch on.  A lot more people than last time. 

We did see some familiar faces, in particular a young couple with a toddler and a baby.  The mom had the little girl put a dollar in our tip bucket.  Mom had to guide her daughter's hand and when she took the dollar out of the wee one's grip and let it fall into the bucket, the little girl tried to take it back out.  Pretty cute. 

Thanks to Brad, Gayle, Linda, John, Ted, Nora, and Little Pat for stopping out!  They came in shifts, so that made a nice balance through the evening.  Nora and Pat stayed for the duration.   Those girls are troopers.

A few people danced their way around the produce section where we were set up.  I get a kick out of watching people dance in a grocery store. 

I kinda like playing in the grocery store, especially because we don't have to make a stop on the way home for snack items. 

Burntwood Tavern - 2/28/13

Apparently, it's not just special occasions that have this place hoppin' (last time we were there was Valentines Day).  Whatever the reason for the crowd, we were happy about it.  

Tried some new food items this time and they were just as dee-lish as before.  I highly recommend it, especially during happy hour when their appetizers are half price.

G-Man showed up just before we started, which totally surprised me.  It was great to see him again.  And in true Gordy fashion, he surrounded himself with women.  I had to laugh when I looked over and saw him sitting there with his harem.    

We had a guest singer at the very end.  Didn't catch his name, but he did a really good version of Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay. 

Whole Foods, University Hts - 2/22/13

Oh my goodness, the little kids were so amazingly cute. I love watching them watch us. They're all so serious. Would be interesting to know what their little minds are thinking. One of the boys looked like a miniature Ed Grimley, but was somehow able to make that look completely adorable. And one of the little girls looked like Cindy Lou Hoo.

What a wonderful treat it was to see Tom again!  Haven't seen that boy in about 4 years.  Didn't have nearly enough time to catch up, but it was nice to chit and chat again. 

Ilene, of course was there and we tried to do her favorite "Scotch and Soda".  Still needs some work on my part of things, but it'll get there.  It is a neat little song and I'm glad that she requested it.  The bulk of our repertoire comes from requests.  If we don't know it, we'll learn it.   

Here's an odd thing...well, it's odd to me ~ I saw 2 women sporting the same look.  That's not the odd part, it was the look that they were sporting.  Flip flops.  Keep in mind that it's February in Cleveland.  They both were wearing long pants and winter coats that were buttoned up tight.  Neither of their feet appeared to have issues that would require flops instead of shoes.  Guess it's kind of the same concept as wearing shorts and a sweatshirt, which I've done...so never mind.

Burntwood Tavern, Brecksville - 2/14/13

Happy Valentines Day!

It was interesting to me to see the variety of people who go out for Valentines Day.  Of course, there were tons of couples, but also groups of girls, couples on a double date, guys buddied up together who seemed to be "out of touch" with women, groups of friends, and oddly enough there were a couple of loners, although I'm thinking that those boys were probably regulars and they were not going to let a thing like Valentines Day come between them and their beverage(s).

I felt bad that we didn't have many romantic songs, but most Blues and Rock songs are all about pain and suffering.  No one seemed to care, especially the couple who got up and danced.  I specified that they got up to dance, because we had some chair dancers, which is fine with us.  Enjoy the music however you want, just enjoy!

If you haven't ventured out to the newest Burntwood Tavern (4th in a series), you should make a point to go.  Good atmosphere, wonderful service, and they have some great happy hour specials.  We were happy.

Giant Eagle, North Olmsted - 2/8/13

Looks like we're on the grocery store circuit, which is fine by us, it's just a little odd sounding that a band would be playing in a grocery store. 

Giant Eagle in North Olmsted recently added their "dining under the tower" to their many perks.  Six different wines and six different food items for $6 from 6-8pm every Friday.

We were set up right next to the first tasting station that had a yummy beef item and the perfect paring of one of their featured red wines.

Joani and Little Pat came out to support us, although not together, but they did kibitz with each other, which was nice to see.  Jake's friends ventured out as well and stayed for a bit. 

Quite a few people had the same look of "what the what?" when they walked in and saw us, but quickly recovered and hung out at the tasting tables to listen while they sampled the food and wine.

There was a couple with their cute little girl, who was about two-ish, give or take an ish and their infant daughter who slept through the whole thing (not sure if that meant we were boring or soothing).  The older of the 2 girls decided that dancing/running would be way more fun than sitting in the cart and off she went.  Took her a while to get to that stage...she kind of had the deer in the headlights look right at first since it was probably the first live music she witnessed, much less having that experience in a grocery store.  Little kids are way better at getting through the processing part and then on to the fun part than adults seem to be. 

One little boy was trailing his parents and as they passed us he put his hands over his ears.  Of course it was during one of my songs, so I was torn between being amused and having my feelings hurt.  I opted for being amused.

Mustard Seed - 2/2/13

Well, it's Groundhog Day....again.

Glad to be back at the Mustard Seed after a long leave of absence! 

Talked with a lot of people at this one (between sets and after the gig).  Everyone we talked with seemed to like our music. 

Our new friend, Mark came there on a whim and ended up staying for the duration. 

And oh guess what, I saw East Side Chuck.  Guess this would make him South Side Chuck.  Would really like to know where he's from since we see him quite often in Beachwood.  Didn't get to talk to him, because we were upstairs in the middle of a set and he was downstairs making his way to the checkout.  I'll just have to wait until we see him again in Beachwood.  Hey, maybe he's our following!

The other thing we saw was a heron, but not at the gig. Mudcat spotted him on the way home flying south through a blizzard.  At least he was headed in the right direction.  Perhaps the warmer weather fooled him into sticking around longer or coming back early. 

Whole Foods, Beachwood - 1/25/13

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKE! 

And not just any birthday....his 21st.  That's huge.  Well, technically it was his birthday eve, but it still counts.

So, we were just getting started with setting up and Jake gets a call from his neighbor that the police are at his house.  Yikes!  Turns out that someone tried to break in, but only made it as far as opening the sliding door...opening it just enough to let their 2 labradoodles and 1 border collie out.  Can you imagine the look on the would-be robbers face when he saw those dogs?  And then the look on his face as he's running away with 3 giant crazed dogs on his tail and it dawns on him that he should have slammed the door closed first before he took off.
Thankfully, nothing was taken and the neighbors retrieved the dogs.  As far as I know, the stupid robber got away.

We were asked to sing happy birthday to Jen, but had to wait until she showed up.  The plan was that the girls would give us the signal and we would do our best to embarrass Jen.  Made it through the entire 2 hours without the signal, so we figured that Jen decided to do something else on her birthday and we started to tear things down.  Just then we hear a group of people "singing" happy birthday to Jen.  We were not about to turn things back on to join in. 

As always, there was a wee one who just had to dance, but was oh so too very shy about it.  Her mom kept encouraging her to come over by us and dance so that she could video the event, rather than just watching her daughter being a delight.  Ah...technology...forever changing the course of memorable moments.

Whole Foods, University Hts - 1/12/13

She's baaaack....

The new year started off right at Whole Foods, which is one of our favorite places to play.

We got to ham it up in our usual spot by the deli (get it ~ ham it up...at the deli), but they've added some items since the last time we were there.  One of those items would be dried mushrooms.  There was either a cooking show on that morning that aired an amazing recipe calling for dried mushrooms or people were laboring under the illusion that these were magic mushrooms.  Oh, I crack my self up....illusion...magic mushrooms.  That one I wasn't even trying for.  Anyway, I digress.  There had to have been at least 4 people who were not leaving without some of those mushrooms.  And of course, they had to have them the second after we started setting up.  One guy waited to make his way to the shrooms after we were set up and did a delicate balancing act over Mudcat's foot board.  And there was a woman who at first appeared to be watching us after we started playing, but her attention kept going to those stinkin' mushrooms.  Since we never moved so that she could swoop in and snag up a carton, she eventually moved on.

There were a lot of familiar faces, including Ilene, our "Scotch and Soda" gal. 

And lots of little kids who either love us or hate us.  It's pretty funny that the ones who can't talk yet can sure get those feelings across.  Fortunately, more of them liked us than not.  Some were even dancing and clapping, but doing it all shy-like in between their parents or while hiding behind them.  

Super duper good to see Betty again!  So glad that you could make it out.

Well, that's about it for this gig.  Tune in after the 25th when we'll be at the Whole Foods in Beachwood, or better yet just come out there for the 5x7.  It's a sampling of five different food items and five different wines for $5.00 from 5:00 - 7:00pm.  Not a bad deal at all.  Plus you can do your grocery shopping while you snack and drink. 

5/26 - Park Tavern

We have a new best friend, Bill.

According to Bill his own self, he was a drinker at age ten, so I'm thinkin' he was a bad boy, but not in the leather jacket wearing/motorcycle riding sense.  Told us that he had been downtown for the rib cook off, got kicked out of one place (just one?, I asked), was on his way home and got lost, so he stopped in and then heard us playing and decided to stay.  I like how he could find his way to Cleveland, but not back to his own house.  I asked him where he lived and he told me Litchfield....the Park Tavern is in North Royalton.  He didn't seem too concerned when I told him that he was no where close to home.  But he told the bartender that his friend dropped him off there and that he would be back to pick him up later. 

It was MUCH later when he left.  Our new friend, Bill was exhausting.   

He was so stupid drunk that the bartenders refused to serve him, except for water and I noticed that he was the only one drinking from a plastic cup.  Even the people who were going to or coming from the patio had glass glasses. 

He was constantly in our faces doing air guitar, directing us, talking to us, singing along, and dancing (well, his version of singing and dancing).  When I was singing Leaving On a Jet Plane, he actually acted out the song like a little kid.  He put his arms across his chest to hug himself during the words "hold me like you'll never let me go" and when it got to the chorus, he started doing the airplane thing with his arms out and buzzing around the bar.  It was amusing for about 3 seconds. 

After we were done, I headed over to the bathroom (I know you've missed the bathroom stories) and these 2 girls come out of the only stall, which was giant and apparently had a sound proof door so that they had to be in there together to chat with one another....anyway, they looked like they're about 12 years old, which made me wonder if I have reached the age where everyone under 30 looks like a teenager, and one of them tells me that I should be really careful if I go in there because the bathroom toilet is almost overflowing.  Okay, really...we have to use the word bathroom as an adjective for toilet????  I suppose if we were in the country, that would make sense so that I would know it wasn't the outhouse toilet or if we were camping I would know that it wasn't the port-o-potty toilet.  So, that alone convinced me that they really were 12 years old and had really good fake ID's.  I took one look in the stall and decided to head back out and I told them that they should tell the bartender.  I watched them stroll back to their spots at the bar, pick up their drinks and continue their conversation even though the bartender was right in front of them.  So, I called her over and told her about the bathroom toilet. 

When we left I made Mudcat stop at the nearest gas station.  Aren't you glad I share these things?

5/25 - Whole Foods, Beachwood

This gig was pretty uneventful other than seeing our cutie little guitar boy.  His mom and dad showed up at just about every gig during the winter and he was always dressed like a miniature Elmer Fudd, but with his blankie....just way too cute. 

Anyway, one day along with his EF get up and his blankie he had a red guitar.  We tried to get him to play something but he was having no part of it.  According to his parents, he could do a mean "Muffin Man".   

Hadn't seen them all since the winter months, just the mom breezing through, but Friday they were all there, with blankie but no guitar.  He was still just as cute.

East side Chuck was back in action, spinning his date around the salad bar.  Can't remember which song we were doing, but he was actually a good dancer.  After the song ended, he was teaching another guy his dance moves, which was way more entertaining to watch than his dancing with the girlfriend.

5/5 - Fat Little Buddies

I apologize for having neglected the blog (again), but the only thing that really stands out in my mind from all those blogless gigs is the guy in a Tony the Tiger suit at The Wine Bar.  No, not like a costume type of suit, but like a man's suit made from fabric that looked like Tony the Tiger.  He had the whole ensemble topped off with a black fedora.  And somehow, he was able to pull off the look.  Definitely sent out the message that he's a guy who likes to have fun.

Okay, moving on to this gig.  We had to be inside, but got to play on the stage ~ pretty fun!  The stage was actually pretty cool, they had it set up like a living room with a giant Oriental rug, a couch, a fire place and a huge tv.  Plus there was a row of old theater seats along one wall.  Tons of space, so we got to have some elbow room for a change. 

There was an older gentleman who could barely walk, he had to hold on to the backs of the chairs as he went, but he made his was to the back room where we were and sat down and started jamming.  He was just too cute.  Then some girl comes in all by her own self, gets up on the dance floor, raises her arms up and yells out like she's at a rock concert that we're awesome (thank you for that, by the way) and then proceeds to dance all by her own self, which I've done, but there were no other people on the dance floor with her.  So, the old man comes up to her with this big smile on his face and they become the perfect dance couple.  It was just way too great.  That girl (but not Marlo Thomas) made his night.  Of course she had to switch to slow dancing, but she didn't seem to mind. 

And Jake was our celebrity for the night when some guy comes in on the last song and is jammin' away, then he gets this "hey, I know you" look on his face and comes up to the stage.  When we were done, he told Jake that he recognized him from the King of the Blues last year.  So, they kibitzed and caught up.

Oh yeah, and it was the super moon.  I had to sneak out before we started and during the break to catch a glimpse.  There's just something about a full moon.

2/4 - Park Tavern

Welcome home, Big Rig Bernie! Nice to see you and Betty.

This was our Park Tavern debut. We were well received, so hopefully we'll be playing back there again. And we had fun too.

Not nearly as much fun as the chick who was drinking some blue liquid in a giant glass. She made her own dance floor and also made her designated driver wait...and wait....and wait. But with her being there, Big Rig Bernie got to hear Bobby McGee twice.

And Jake was still on a roll from the night before. He was crazy good!

2/3 - Cabanas

Jake was on FIRE!

Mudcat and I have never heard him play like that. Especially his solo during The Thrill is Gone. All I could think while he was playing was that I want to send the recording of that song to B.B. King. Honest.

That's pretty much all I can remember about this gig. Everything else took a backseat to Jake's playing. I'm telling you ~ ON FIRE.

1/27 - Whole Foods, University Hts.

Once again, we were squeezed out by the juice weasel. No stage for you!

I think they might be having us do a progressive breakfast....last time we were in the eggs, this time we were by the ham. I felt a little devilish as we went into the black forest of Virginia with the scent of maple in the air and the chip chopped waves crashing like spiral slices peppered with honey. I crack my own self up!

It ended up being a pretty good location, actually better than the stage.

Poor Mudcat was having technical difficulty, but he's a trooper and rose above the troubles.

On a more positive note ~ our friend, Eileen was there and I got to talk with Pete and Sharon after the gig. Haven't seen either of them in about a hundred years.

All in all, it was a pretty good gig.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!

1/21 - Solon Freeway Lounge

This is our bowling alley gig, even though we're not playing in the actual alley part....pretty sure the bowlers might take issue with that, but I'm thinkin' it would be an interesting combination of dodge ball and bowling. I hated dodge ball. Has it been outlawed yet? But I digress. I'll wait right here while you find your shocked face.

We had gobs of room and there were some tiny dancers. Sort of impatient ones at that. They were standing and waiting and giving us the miniature hairy eyeball because we were still in the setting up stage and not in the playing stage, which apparently they thought happened auto-magically. It doesn't.

After the tiny dancers went home to bed and the big girl dancers got liquored up, there was quite a party. The boyfriend of one of the girls did his obligatory dance with her, which consisted of him standing in one place and letting her dance around him.

And you know how street shoes are not to be worn on the alley, which is why we have to wear rented shoes that 45,000 other people have put their sweaty feet into....well, apparently it's okay if you wear the bowling shoes outside to have a smoke and then come back onto the alley. Apparently the thing that matters is the shoes themselves and not the content of their souls. Hmmm...I know some girls like that.

1/20 - Whole Foods, Beachwood

Do they just grow the kids cute in Beachwood or what?

It started with this little boy who saw us setting up and launched into his Lala Song. The tune was pretty nondescript (although according to his mother it was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star), but the lyrics were amazing. They went like this:
lalalalalalalallalalalalala -breath- lalalalalalalalalalalalala - breath- lalalalalalalalalala.
And then there was the second verse, same as the first, but not Henry The Eighth. His song got stuck in our heads and even Mudcat was singing it while we were finishing with setting up, but Mud sang it about 45 octaves lower.

Then there was the little girl who was rockin' out. You know the head shake from the wee ones who don't want to try those pureed peas or carrots? Well, imagine that head shake to music. Her mother must have thought that her little darling was becoming dehydrated, so she gave her some water. The little girl resumed her rockin' out, but apparently was able to hold that water in her mouth, because as our song ended and her mom was trying to get her to clap the most perfect fountain arc spewed from that kid's mouth directly onto her mom's dry clean only sweater. It was great.