Still Rockin' After All These Years

Turning 50 can be spooky. It can also be a lot of fun. Thanks to my little brother's wife Kathy, with an assist from his father-in-law, the lead trombonist for Just Friends, Jim Wallish, Dave showed up at his backyard on Sunday with a surprised look on his face like in the picture below:

You'd almost think those two were related. That's our Dad, of course, and in the background you can see his new Toyota.

Dave's birthday party was more like a summit meeting for musicians. I know my count is off, but there were at least four drummers, three keyboard players, three bass players and enough guitar players to change a lightbulb, and that's not counting Dave's students, some of whom are pretty darn good as well -- and a couple-three sound engineers for good measure. We could have fielded an all-day festival with no problem.

It's hard to make a living playing music. It's harder still to do it and earn a reputation of being a straight shooter, a decent human, and the kind of guy you're proud to work with. Dave has managed to pull it off. Many happy returns, little brother. Reminder: You're doing the Singles Dance with us on Labor Day Sunday. You can borrow my tux. Livin' the dream.

Got Dem Ol Lower Allen Blues, Mama

Yesterday I kept up a mostly yearly tradition of playing for either Steve or Sandy's birthday party in their backyard, by the pool. This year we had a special guest, Blind Boy Carlos, on the harp. Carlos, aka Craig Milus, is a fine harmonica player who also is in the court reporting business on the side. We had a lot of fun on a perfect day to be out eating, drinking and playing music. Thanks to Sandy for inviting me to play, to Steve for his fine vocals, to Craig for his support, and to everybody there for making it such a good time.

These are some seriously good people, and I've had the pleasure of calling them not only colleagues but friends for many years now. There may be people who make more money doing what we do, but there's more to life than income level. I count myself as a wealthy man for having friends like these (although a few more thou a year wouldn't hurt.)

Friday I did something different, one of those other things I've wanted to get around to in this Year Of Getting Around To Things. I bought enough peaches to freeze a bunch, and when I say "enough," I mean a half a bushel. Anybody want some peaches? If yes, speak up soon. They are so peaking good right now it's insane, and the juice runs down your arm. I've given a few away already, but I have a couple dozen left. If you want some, give me a call. This is what's best about summer -- good music, good friends and good produce. Soon: peach pie. Mmmmmm... pie....

If You Stick Around Long Enough...

... the improbable will happen to you. This was the case this week when Just Friends played Knoebel's Amusement Resort Thursday. When I was in the eighth grade at St. Catherine's, there were a few high-functioning kids who formed a band called The Invaders. One of the guitar players was a distant cousin of mine named Pat McCann, who went on to play in a band called Coventry and later Rudy Kazootie (don't hold me to the spelling.) I always wanted to be able to play in a band with Pat, and this week I got the chance. He sat in on bass while Mark Evans did a time-share dealie in New Mexico. We had a great time at Knoebel's. Many of you are old enough to remember when Hershey Park was not one word and it was a real park. That's how Knoebel's is. We got soaked to the bone during the loadout, but it was still a great time. Thanks to our family and friends who stopped by, including Dave and Kathy, Bill and Ginny, Peggy Davis, and our very own Parker Kenyon.

Friday night was a rehearsal for the next iteration of The Durable Goods, with Alex Harden on bass, JF's drummer John Wilson on drums, and Joreen and I. We're doing some of the sixties stuff we did at the benefit last year, but the real thrill for me was doing a few of my new songs. I finally heard "Busted Heart" the way I heard it between my ears. Muy cool.

Last night, Just Friends with Pat McCann on bass and Chris Novak on sound played the Minnequa, a private club in Shippensburg. This is an odd little venue which supports live music, although getting the crowd to dance, clap and interact is a bit like herding cats. They sit there all night and look at you, and then at ten of twelve they start going nuts and yelling for encores. Go figure. Anyway, it was a good gig, especially for Joreen and I because we indulged ourselves in a little rock and roll fantasy. The Minnequa is right across the alley from a hotel called Shippen Place. Rather than make Joreen play 5:00 Mass, zip down the road, play four hours, drive home, get up and play Mass at 9:00 a.m., we just get a room. That way we finish playing, have a nightcap, get a good night's sleep, do the continental breakfast and go from there. It's a business expense, a mini-vacation, whatever you want to call it. We even talk about throwing the TV out the window, although we never do it.

Today was the feast of the Assumption, and Fr. Sullivan had an amazing homily about St. Catherine Laboure laying her hands in the lap of the Blessed Mother. This guy can really preach. The hymns were pretty sweet, too, once I got some feelings back in my hands. They felt like oatmeal this morning, but I still managed to get a few hymns out of them tonight. Music is the best.

Now we have some down time until September with Just Friends. I'm going to try to get a recording together of some new songs and work on some new arrangements for Vince and Jim. We're starting to really get a sound. It's all good.

Market Day in Cleveland and the Ride Home

Just to finish up the travelogue of our Cleveland adventure, we got up early Friday morning and packed the car before and after breakfast. The woman who cooked for us, Vi, was a real sweetheart and did her best to make every breakfast memorable. We enjoyed our stay thoroughly and would recommend the University Circle B&B to anyone who wants a break from the usual Hampton Inn-style rooms.

On our way out of town, we stopped down at The West Side Market on 25th and Lorain Street. It took us a while to learn that there's a 25th Street on both sides of the city. This farmers market makes the West Shore Farmers Market look like a 7-11. The number of high quality meat stands, cheese stands, specialty stands and produce stands was so impressive that as soon as we got there I regretted not bringing a cooler. This was easily fixed by running down the street to a Dollar Store and buying a soft-shell cooler which we filled with some of the best meat I've ever bought. Feeling adventurous, I bought a rack of baby-back ribs to do on the grill, along with some amazing bacon, Vermont sharp cheese, lemons and limes way cheaper than locally available, and other bounty.

We iced everything up and headed for home, with perfect driving weather and almost no traffic troubles capping off a vacation for the record books. Of course, I'm cheating when I say a vacation is a good one, because Joreen and I could have a great time anywhere, doing anything. But Cleveland does indeed rock, and so do we -- not bad for a couple of grandparents.