Getting Good Reception

Wedding reception, that is. Just Friends played at the Lebanon Country Club yesterday, with yet another variation in the line-up. Our drummer, John Wilson, was out of town attending his own son's wedding in Long Island, so his predecessor, Craig Rankin, graciously stepped up and did a great job. He drove up from the Lancaster area the night before and we had a quick rehearsal on the obligatos; for the rest, we just wung it. Again, Gio was unavailable, so I took the center mic again and my little brother Davey stepped up, and we rocked the Haverstick and Frederick families like crazy. To be fair, the band has a history with the Haverstick family. We played the bride's sister's wedding five years ago -- this is the family whose traditional family song is Ring of Fire, gotta love that -- and they were very receptive and enthusiastic, to say the least. By the time we got to "Shout," they were tuned up and as wired as can be. Yes, they did the "gator dance." Nothing like the sight of guys in tuxes laying on the floor on their back and flailing around to renew your faith in the power of live music. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Frederick, and best wishes for a long and happy marriage. May there be many Ring of Fire dances in your lives for years to come.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone in the band, we left everyone very satisfied and happy. That's good, because we'll see many of the same folks in November when we do another wedding at the same location for one of the bridesmaids from yesterday. Special thanks to Dave for playing the cocktail hour with me on guitar. I went through my old charts and we just smoothed our way through it. I was as nervous about doing that as I was about anything, but turns out the hardest part was setting up outside, then inside, then outside again. "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is now firmly stuck in my head, and that's a good thing. Another highlight: the bride and groom from five years ago were in attendance, and they requested their first dance song, "My Baby Just Cares For Me." That was muy cool. If we keep playing for this family, we can do a whole set just of their past first dances.

Also, I have to give credit to the staff of the Lebanon Country Club, under the capable leadership of Boris Gradina. He organized and executed an amazingly smooth wedding reception, placing a lot of people in a rather small space, dealing with the weather and many people's expectations, and he did it with such style and poise that he even had time to be a bit of a wise guy. "You want to know where to set up? I'm just a guy who golfs here." Thanks to Boris for all his help, for putting us at ease, and for keeping me guessing whether he was serious or not.

Next week, Saturday at the Minnequa with Just Friends, and then Sunday is the Durable Goods extravaganza at Camp Reily. If any of you gentle readers are interested in attending, please contact me by cell phone or e-mail. This is going to be a blast. After all these years of doing gigs the same way with the same lineup to the point of falling into a routine, all this variety is really keeping me on my toes musically, and that's another good thing.