Had another host band engagement at Shark's in Largo. I've been extremely busy with work, post-hurricanes, and had a screaming headache from caffeine withdrawal, but headed across the bay at about 5pm with surprisingly light traffic:
I secured a reasonably close parking spot and loaded my trash into the club. Setup was easy peasy:
The drummers kit was already set up, and there was not one, but two keyboard players with their gear in my way. One I didn't know, and he introduced himself as a friend of both my gu!+@r!$+$ back in the day.
I didn't tell him it was my outfit, I just said for him to stand by until they showed up and chose their stage positions, although I know about where they want to be. The other guy is a disaster I wanted no part of.
In the event, when my guys arrived, one of em explained that the kbp is Rick Curran and he's well known from back in the day and really good so would I mind if he sat in for a few songs. One is often well positioned to go with the flow, and in the event, he sat in for our entire host set. It added an additional facet and dynamic to the group, of course, and required me to dial back the volume during his numerous skilled, appropriate, and tasty solos although wo only got to about 3/4 of our set list. It was fun.
I also got to play several songs with Tommy Z, another kbp who has a cool cd featuring Jon Anderson as a guest artist (among others). Ine of my guitarists, Jerry "Toledo" Northup, (who actually has a trio), has a bass player (Jeff $tick Davis) from the Amazing Rhythm Aces, who is a friend of mine, and was kind enough to show up for a set, for which I'm grateful.
The other guitarist is Todd T Willy Williams, who's a really superior player. Both guys sing and lead a band well. They are mature, non-ego driven players who understand pacing and dynamics. I'm thankful that they're willing to play with me.
My normal drummer, Tommy T.K. Kennedy was unavailable, so I had Jerry Chase sit in. He's a very solid drummer and a great vocalist. We incorporated a number of his songs over the course of the night and whereas I really look forward to sharing a stage with him, most of his stuff is very uptempo. By the end of the night, my hands were feeling my 64 years. Definitely worth it, though.
We smelled smoke with about 5 minutes to go. Apparently there was a significant fire just east of the building and they shut us down a bit early. It was evidently extinguished because . . . Here I am.
Didn't f up too much, got paid, got home in one piece and had fun. Here are a couple of vids:
I secured a reasonably close parking spot and loaded my trash into the club. Setup was easy peasy:
The drummers kit was already set up, and there was not one, but two keyboard players with their gear in my way. One I didn't know, and he introduced himself as a friend of both my gu!+@r!$+$ back in the day.
I didn't tell him it was my outfit, I just said for him to stand by until they showed up and chose their stage positions, although I know about where they want to be. The other guy is a disaster I wanted no part of.
In the event, when my guys arrived, one of em explained that the kbp is Rick Curran and he's well known from back in the day and really good so would I mind if he sat in for a few songs. One is often well positioned to go with the flow, and in the event, he sat in for our entire host set. It added an additional facet and dynamic to the group, of course, and required me to dial back the volume during his numerous skilled, appropriate, and tasty solos although wo only got to about 3/4 of our set list. It was fun.
I also got to play several songs with Tommy Z, another kbp who has a cool cd featuring Jon Anderson as a guest artist (among others). Ine of my guitarists, Jerry "Toledo" Northup, (who actually has a trio), has a bass player (Jeff $tick Davis) from the Amazing Rhythm Aces, who is a friend of mine, and was kind enough to show up for a set, for which I'm grateful.
The other guitarist is Todd T Willy Williams, who's a really superior player. Both guys sing and lead a band well. They are mature, non-ego driven players who understand pacing and dynamics. I'm thankful that they're willing to play with me.
My normal drummer, Tommy T.K. Kennedy was unavailable, so I had Jerry Chase sit in. He's a very solid drummer and a great vocalist. We incorporated a number of his songs over the course of the night and whereas I really look forward to sharing a stage with him, most of his stuff is very uptempo. By the end of the night, my hands were feeling my 64 years. Definitely worth it, though.
We smelled smoke with about 5 minutes to go. Apparently there was a significant fire just east of the building and they shut us down a bit early. It was evidently extinguished because . . . Here I am.
Didn't f up too much, got paid, got home in one piece and had fun. Here are a couple of vids:
Last edited:
