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Happy 2025!!!

2025… my 50th year as a professional musician… well, if I can find a good fit musically… 🙂

As the name implies, I’ll probably do a lot of private reflecting on the last 50 years as I reread the various pages of this site… it’s been a wild ride but I’m really hoping it’s not over yet…

While I’ve enjoyed spending weekends at home with my wife, I REALLY need to be playing in a band full time again!! And she’s probably ready for me to stop bugging her to play board games every weekend… 🙂 Unfortunately, all of the bands in the area that musically fall into what I’m looking for already have their timekeepers in place… I want to play and play often but don’t want to ‘settle’ at this point… if I did, I’m sure I’d be miserable the whole time and probably end up walking away within a month which wouldn’t be fair to my bandmates… c’mon 2025 – let’s get this party started!! 🙂

It’s taken me months to force myself to sit down and try to mix the kit then blend it with the original recordings then try to get it all to line up with the GoPro video (and audio)… I need to do this more often to get even remotely good at it but here are some ‘highlights’ if you can call them that… I started out with some pretty straightforward tunes and eventually got into some more challenging stuff… 🙂

Enjoy!!

January 18… Tonight I followed through on one of Julie’s Christmas presents – a date night to see Almost Queen at the Troy Music Hall!!

We loved the show and the venue is amazing though it seemed like the sound was shooting over our front row seats and everything lacked some clarity… the show was very good!! They’ve been doing it for 20 years so they have it down pretty well… the person tasked with portraying Freddy Mercury did an excellent job with the character and an admirable job with the vocals (there can only be one Freddy Mercury)… while he didn’t go for many of the high notes, his voice was still very powerful and within character and a joy to watch and hear… the drummer was great as well though he way overplayed the Roger Taylor parts (IMHO)… 🙂

February… Wow!! Hard to believe it’s February already… No gigs in January but I bowled for the first time in over 50 years (subbing for a couple weeks in a small league with some friends from work)… injured myself both times I subbed… gave up bowling… 🙂 My wrist, fingers and arm are feeling much better after some recovery and a support wrap… now to continue the band search…

February 16… OK – time for a detour and proof that there really ARE still some nice people left in the world… 🙂

About a week and a half ago (February 5th), there was a nasty winter storm predicted… heavy snow, then some icing… Thankfully we missed most of the icing and I was able to snow blow, shovel and rake the roof without issue…

A few days later (February 8th into the 9th), another storm came through dumping nearly a foot of heavy, wet snow and making roads slick early evening and overnight… Early the next morning (before the temps could rise and make it that much heavier), I cleaned off the decks and shoveled almost two feet that had been plowed in the end of the driveway… the snow was already wet enough that I knew it would just clog the snowblower… I moved a little bit at a time and it wasn’t bad at all… I was happy with the results but as it warmed up, everything started to melt like it was spring… a couple days later, the temps plummeted and would stay there for the foreseeable future… everything in our driveway that wasn’t a frozen rut from driving over the slush was a skating rink!!

Of course another storm was predicted for February 16th – this one mostly snow… I was at work the 14th when I realized that I had never cleaned out in front of the shed after all that slushy snow and the 2 day thaw that followed!! I was certain that water had probably got in and around the shed and frozen the doors shut and the snowblower to the concrete shed floor when the deep freeze hit… I was screwed!!

I got home and made my way to the shed down the icy path began pounding away with a small sledgehammer which didn’t make a dent in it… I desperately need some ice melt – preferably pet friendly but by now it was dark and I was exhausted so I went inside, showered and went to bed…

The next morning (February 15th) I made a grocery run followed by a visit to Lowe’s… little did I know that every place within 100 miles had been out of ice melt for a week or more… uh-oh… an older gentlemen working the floor smiled and gestured to an empty pallet that he said was cleaned out in less than an hour the day before… but we had a nice chat about winters and how there used to be so much more snow, etc…

I returned home, unloaded groceries and started hunting online – willing to drive as far as necessary… Walmart’s website says they have some in stock so I placed an order for pickup along with dog food we were running low on… I quickly received an order confirmation but about an hour later I got an email saying part of the order had been canceled because they were out of stock… of course – the ice melt…

I called Home Depot and the local Ace – all were depleted… I found a hardware store I hadn’t heard of in Warrensburg (about 20 minutes north of me) that supposedly had stock… I placed an order for pickup, received an order confirmation followed shortly after by a cancellation… now I’m getting nervous… if we get anywhere near the amount of snow they’re predicting, I’ll never be able to clear it with a shovel…

I find another small chain named ‘Do It Best’ that claims the Luzerne store (about 30 minutes west over the mountain from me) has 20 pound bags of pet friendly ice melt so I order one, receive the order confirmation and wait for what I’m sure will be a cancellation notice because I’ve been down this road before…

A couple hours go by with no word by which time I have to leave to pickup the dog food at Walmart 20 minutes in the other direction… while on the way I decide to give the Luzerne store a call… a man named Chris answers the phone and I tell him I placed an order on the website but hadn’t heard back… he finds the order and says, “I am so sorry”… (I already know where this is going)… “Unfortunately, the website that takes the orders doesn’t tap into our actual inventory and we are out.” I told him I understood – no problem… then, to my surprise, he says, “I do have some of the 50 pound bags… there might be a cost difference but if you like I’ll put one aside for you.” I was in shock and told him that would be great and thanked him very much. I got my Walmart dog food order loaded and headed over the mountain by which time the snow had already started… the higher I got the more it snowed and I could see the storm making its way over the mountains in the distance as they gradually disappeared…

I found the tiny store and Chris – who directs me around the back of the store and even loads the 50 pound bag in the back of my van… I thanked him again and asked him what I owed him (I had already paid for the 20 pound bag online)… he replies, “You’re all set.” I reminded him that this was the bigger bag and there was a price difference… he says, “I looked it up and the price difference was nothing… you were so nice about understanding the website mess so you’re all good. Drive safe!!” I’m tearing up again as I type this… I was totally caught off guard by his generosity and think I smiled all the way home… there really ARE nice people out there still. 🙂

When I got home (about 1:30pm) there was a light covering of snow on the ground… I unloaded the dog food and went around the back of the van to get the ice melt… opened the back door… took one step on the snow-covered smooth ice and SWISH – BANG!!! Both legs under the van and I landed flat on my back, elbow and head!!! Lucky for me I had my thick snow coat on with my knit hat and thick hood up… I lay there for a minute with the snow hitting my face – all the time laughing my ass off and hoping I could stand up without a repeat performance… I was able to get to my knees then my feet, get the bag over my shoulder and get it in the house without further incident. Now for the real challenge – getting in the shed…

2:00pm – drop a coating of ice melt all along the doors and the ice in front…

2:30pm – back at it with the small sledge… it was breaking up a little and I was even able to move a little bit with the snow shovel… I dropped another generous helping of ice melt and went back inside to let it work its magic…

3:00pm – more hammering and scraping and I was able to get the doors to start loosening up… I got them apart about 6 inches and was able to stretch my arm through the opening enough to reach my ice chopper… now things started moving!! After 15 -20 minutes it appeared I had moved as much as I could I coated everything with more ice melt…

3:30pm – more chopping, scraping and yanking on the doors… I’m making progress finally but learning that the ice in front of the doors is nearly 6 inches thick!! This is our original shed that got clipped by falling trees during the tornado back in July… it was still standing but with a nasty forward lean… I’d had to dig down in front of the doors just to get them to open far enough so I could get in and AND get the snowblower out…

The process continued until at almost 7:00pm – in the dark for the most part but I had gotten the bulk of the ice cleared from in front of the doors and could pull the snowblower through the opening (barely)… now I was certain I would be able to get the snowblower out the next day after clearing whatever snow might fall… time for some supper, another shower and some sleep!!

The next morning the snow continued to fall until after lunch… close to a foot when it started winding down… and I was able to shovel the snow away from the shed doors, retrieve the snowblower and clean everything up as planned… and I owe it all to Chris at Do It Best Hardware in Luzerne, NY!! I never would have made it otherwise… there’s more to this story but that’s a couple weeks away so keep reading… 🙂

March… I got my hopes up… local band looking for a drummer… interesting song list… the only videos I could find were a couple years old and they sounded decent but the website doesn’t list band members which is usually the sign of a revolving door… I’d planned to see them live to get a better feel but of course a winter storm cancelled that… they’d prefer a drummer with an e-kit (electronic drums)… I have my pads that I use for augmentation but am still hesitant to put my faith totally in electronics every gig… they have another performance coming up that I might try to catch though some of the places on their schedule are giving me pause… I really want to get back in the groove soon…

March 7… I’ve been going over and over in my mind just what to do for the guy with the tiny hardware store in Luzerne who was key to my getting my shed opened before the storm a few weeks ago… he has a Stewart’s and a Cumberland Farms right up the road but I have no idea which he might patronize… after much consideration, I decided on one of my favorite treats that, chances were, he’d never had… the amazing cookies from the Witch’s Cafe in Greenwich!! I called this morning before they got busy and ordered a box of a dozen and half of assorted cookies… chocolate chip, M&M, frosted sugar cookies, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc… I left work about 2:00 to pick them up then drove about an hour and 15 minutes over route 29 from Greenwich, through Schuylerville to Saratoga where I picked up route 9N – what I call ‘the back way’ into Corinth and back to Luzerne in hopes that he’d be working…

I walked in the store and spotted the familiar silhouette in the back of the store… “Chris??” I called as he approached the front… “I don’t know if you remember me but a few weeks ago I was running all over trying to find pet friendly ice melt right before that last storm… I’d ordered a 20 pound bag from your website but you were out and said that the website doesn’t tap your inventory… but you had 50 pound bags in stock, held one for me and, though I’m sure there was a price difference, you didn’t charge me… you saved my butt that day!!! I would never have gotten my shed opened or been able to clean up after that storm”… as I started to hand him the box I asked, “You’re not Diabetic are you??” He smiled and said he wasn’t… I gave him the box with the Witch’s Cafe sticker on it and told him that this was from one of my favorite places near where I work… he opened the box and his eyes got huge… “You didn’t have to do this…” he said but I told him I had to do something… I could see him tearing up a little as he said, “You just made my weekend!! You made my weekend… do you need anything??” Nope – I just needed to do something nice for someone who I didn’t know who came through when I really needed something the most. 🙂

March 18… someone at the Pines was finally motivated to improve Mom’s situation and this morning they moved her to another room because, according to Pines staff, the person in the window bed (bed A) they say controls the room and if there’s an issue the other person goes… good plan, eh?? For once it worked in Mom’s favor… there was an opening in a room with a sweet older lady who likes the room cool and didn’t want the window bed so, for the first time, Mom has the window and has room to breathe and a room she can breath in that’s not 90 degrees… AND she isn’t getting yelled at by a visitor!! I stopped on my way home to reconnect the Bluetooth transmitter I put on her TV so she could hear it through a small Bluetooth speaker she had at the apartment… took 5 minutes but I could already tell she was much happier and I’ll bet she got a good nights sleep for the first time in months… 🙂

March 19… Mom actually got some sleep!! The room is comfortable and quiet and all of her furniture isn’t crammed into a corner because a wicked witch of a daughter pushed everything of Moms ‘out of the way’ so HER Mom would have more room… we’re now hearing that a lot of the staff spoke up about the daughter and how she listens to no one and argues every point… I don’t know what rights these facilities have when the issue isn’t a resident but one of their relatives, but it would seem they could tell them to find another place… never mind – it’s run by NY State and that would be giving money away… 🙂 At least for the time being, my Mom is happy and relaxed which is a welcome change… I had her out for dinner and shopping after work…

March 22… a glimmer of band hope… stay tuned… 🙂

April 4… the beginning of a week that would push my blood pressure to new highs… 8 days of Julie having people staying over with their dogs in tow and our dogs being confined to our bedroom… it all culminated on the 8th day when Julie picked up a ‘friend’ (former bully from high school) to take her to a job interview… a dog ran out from nowhere, a truck swerved to avoid the dog – forcing Julie to back up where she took out someone’s mailbox and damaged the passenger side of the van which now has to go in for body work… what a week!!

April 7… well today almost lived up to this page’s name… there was almost a sequel… back on March 22nd, I was surprised when Rocco from Funk Evolution called to say their drummer was leaving and see if I would be interested… I told him I was (after a year of sitting home I was considering auditioning with one of the many doom / sludge bands that all seem to need drummers)… there was going to be a band meeting the next day to decide my fate and he’d let me know…

After a week with no word, I reached out to see if I was still under consideration and, if so, could I get the song list as he indicated that there was a ton of new material to learn… I also let him know I would gladly audition if they would feel more comfortable… he emailed back to say that they had 3 drummers they were auditioning NEXT weekend… this sounded familiar… when I reached out to audition originally he told me there were 23 drummers already in line… 🙂

After 2 weeks, today came word that ‘the team decided they wanted to go in a new and unexpected direction’ and made a point of saying that they had selected someone in their 40’s… good enough… message received…

I’m mildly disappointed… I’ve been chomping at the bit to be playing again full time and I love many of the band members not to mention that Josh – who was the bass player when I joined originally – had returned and he and I just clicked whenever we played together – making for one of the tightest bass / drum combinations going… but hey – everything for a reason as they say… 🙂

April 13… got Mom out for some shopping and lunch after a rough couple of weeks… her sweet old roommate turns out has an arrogant dick of a son who comes in to visit 8:00 or 9:00pm – after everyone’s asleep – turns on all the lights, wakes up his mom and visits… OR sits with her just outside the door with another ‘resident’ – a younger man who treats it more like an apartment building and regularly checks himself out for the night and heads to local bars… and the men are loud which stirs up the other residents that have all settled in!! A couple nights ago Mom was so upset that they were going to medicate her to calm her down!! She questioned his visitations at that hour and was repeatedly told that he could visit whenever he wanted because he works late… BULLSHIT!! That’s special permission for resident’s that are sadly nearing end of life… but not in this case apparently…

Finally, a couple days ago, some of the few staff members with their heads on straight, told her she was entirely correct… that there should be no visitors on the floor after 8:00pm – what they called ‘lockdown’… the visitation exception is meant for resident’s that are dying… last week the son was contacted and told that, if he came to visit, he was NOT to turn on the lights and needed to take his mom to the dining hall… the nurses on the floor were also instructed that, if they saw him or the other resident who checks himself out together, they were to split them up because they apparently have no consideration for any of the other residents. Finally. We’ll see how long it lasts but I doubt it will work because a couple nights ago, all three nurses assigned to the floor called in and the one from an agency that was called in to cover has no idea of what to look out for.

April 21… Mom’s situation is no better – maybe even worse… the son has stooped so low that (this even after he took my Mom’s welcome sign off the door and hid it behind his mom’s TV… genius), despite being instructed by email, phone message and in person NOT to turn on the overhead lights at night, now – even though his Mom is already in the dining room – he opens the door to the room, turns on all the lights, then leaves without closing the door!!

The end of last week, a couple of the better nurses (we thought) went to right to the top guy and told him this isn’t right and shouldn’t be allowed and something needed to be done… he agreed much to our surprise and today they moved her AGAIN… this time she was told the roommate is immobile, pretty much non-verbal and just lies in bed all day with her TV playing soft organ music… they lied to her!! The ‘soft organ music’ turns out to be Andy Griffith and Gunsmoke and various other shows BLASTING LOUD to the point we can’t imagine other nearby residents aren’t complaining… when there is organ music, it too is so loud you can’t think… I took Mom shopping and to eat and we picked up foam ear plugs for sleeping but they don’t even remotely block out the noise… which the roommate say she needs to drown out the noise from the hall but she’s so nosy that she has to have the door open…

The only thing that’s becoming apparent now is that no one wants to deal with the loud and obnoxious offspring of these residents so they’ve branded my Mom as a complainer and move her around to shut her up… she refuses to let my brother and I speak with the administration for fear of some sort of retribution (I’m not sure they could treat her any worse) or even kicking her out…

A couple months ago Mom was told by a staff member that she felt like those in charge were actively trying to drive my Mom out… now I’m beginning to believe it… she’s the only resident on the floor with her full mental faculties even though some staff still treat her like dementia patient… but she speaks up – not only for herself, but for other residents that otherwise wouldn’t have a voice… with Mom gone, the staff could pretty much do whatever they want because the other patients sadly don’t know day from night, wet clothes from dry, hot food from cold, spicy food from burnt or rude treatment from friendly and don’t say much of anything throughout their lonely days… I’m told by some that, unfortunately, it’s the same everywhere… short staffing and many that are there could care less about the residents… hopefully change is coming…

I’ve put in to get Mom on the list for the next opening at Fort Hudson – another facility where they have distinctly separate wings for the patient’s various stages of mental health so she’ll at least be around people much like herself… where I have to think the staff – at least in her wing – would be less apt to try to get away with poor treatment because those residents DO know the difference… here’s hoping it doesn’t take long because the Pines is sucking what little life she may have left right out of her.

May 3… had Mom out for lunch and shopping to give her a break… she can’t stay in the room because the roomy’s TV is so loud from the moment she wakes up until someone on the floor gets their head out of their ass and turns it off… last night that was almost midnight and everything’s supposed to be off by 11:00pm… that’s their rule and they stick to it – to hell with anyone else on the floor that’s trying to sleep… forget about asking her to turn it down – she just shouts ‘turn yours up!!”… so much for being non-verbal… if someone comes in and turns it down, she turns it back up as soon as they leave… tonight it was so annoying that mom (in her bed clothes) grabbed a blanket and went back to the lobby to sit and I went down and sat with her until she went back up about 7:30… she’s not getting much sleep and it’s affecting her health but maybe more important is that this place and many have the staff have broken her spirit… she fears retaliation if she complains to anyone and is sure they’ll kick her out of the facility if she says much more… if we can get her moved, I will most certainly be filing a complaint with the state on The Pines of Glens Falls because this is unacceptable – not only for my Mom but for all the residents there that are being subjected to this kind of treatment and may not have a voice for themselves anymore.

May 6… Mom’s situation continues to decline… a meeting a couple days ago where everyone agreed that the roommate’s TV volume and behavior wasn’t acceptable and that night someone on the floor came in and told her that the volume had to be lowered or it was getting unplugged because my Mom needed some sleep… she bitched a fit of course but didn’t turn it back up as usual… then last night it was back to the typical shit show on the floor and it was going for midnight before anything was done… I worry that she won’t be able to take much more of this and her health will start to fail… now Fort Hudson isn’t returning my calls so I’m wondering what the Pines has put in my Mom’s file… a nurse told Mom that the social worker told her my Mom has ‘been a problem everywhere she’s been’… I’m sure that’s what she told Fort Hudson too… this sucks!!

Tonight she was back in the lobby in her night gown with a blanket because no one would ask the roommate to turn her TV down… not sure what the next steps will be… 🙁

May 10… took Julie out for Mother’s Day to Nanola – a place I used to play with the old band years ago… she loved the New Orleans inspired menu – especially the gator bites and Beignets… neither of which were still on the menu… the place is still a dump and from all outward appearances they haven’t put a dime into it in a very long time… she did enjoy some Jambalaya so the food is still pretty good…

I was there to also check out Rustic Spirit – the band I’m covering several dates with starting in June… they sounded great though using the house PA system was a bad call… one – maybe two – of the three ceiling mounted speakers are still blown from way back when I played there… it hurt their sound most from the low end… I couldn’t hear the bass player except on a short solo and it sounded like the old fuzz effect through ripped cones… very distorted… I’m looking forward to my dates with the but dreading a return to Caroline Street… I might be purchasing a micro drum kit because of the space limitations and load-ins at a couple of the venues… more on that if and when I get the kit… 🙂

May 11… rescued Mom from her ‘Hell in a cell” and brought her to the house for Mother’s Day and our first grilling of the year… I was thrilled to see her wipe out a plate full of hot dog, Kielbasa, sweet relish and honey mustard, potato egg salad, macaroni salad, chips and olives and still devour a bakery decorated Mother’s Day cake and ice cream!! On the way back we stopped at Walmart so she could pick up a few things she wanted (and walk off everything she had eaten)… 🙂

May 18… Mom’s situation is slightly better… she gets the feeling that someone may have had a long talk with the roommate about how she’s supposed to be SHARING the room… I’m still searching for alternatives but now know to keep the Pines out of it as they’re useless in so many ways…

My prep for Rustic Spirit dates goes well… song notes are almost finished and, with school having a 4 day Memorial Day weekend, I’ll be there at least a couple days – configuring the smaller kit and running the tunes… rehearsal June 2nd and first gigs June 7th and 8th and I can’t wait!! 🙂

May 24… a scary incident for Mom and her roommate tonight… a male Dementia patient on the floor came into their room and wouldn’t leave – even going into their bathroom… he’s started into Mom’s room previously but, after she calmly tells him it isn’t his room, he would turn around and leave… but not this time… they had to make multiple calls for a supervisor to get him to settle back in his room… it was a little unnerving to hear and the roommate was probably the most scared and kept thanking Mom for handling it and has been sweet as pie to her since… maybe this will settle things down a bit but for how long… time will tell…

May 25… a couple days ago I reached out to a new group aiming to be a Pat Benatar / Stevie Nicks tribute band… they sent me the audition songs and the full song list that they’re starting with which includes other artists and a lot of great music… it looks like my audition might be around the 2nd week of June… stay tuned… 🙂

For right now, it’s back to school for some playing and packing!! 🙂

It took a little more tweaking before I started to feel comfortable with the smaller kit but it wasn’t bad after that… I’m excited to play some of this material live!! Then came the packing…

I managed to get everything repacked in such a way that anything I didn’t need for the small setup went in the other hardware cases… then it was time to load the van – the goal being to have everything loaded (carrying both versions of the kit) but I wanted any cases I didn’t need more towards the front… I made it but DAMN!! The main case – the one I’ll need each gig – is much heavier with the added hardware… my back is already killing me… but it’s done and I’m ready for rehearsal and the first shows!! Hope I can get my body back into shape for the moving part… 🙂

May 26… broke Mom out for a Memorial Day cookout as she loves about anything off the grill… 🙂 She doesn’t eat a lot usually so we were thrilled to see her clean a plate full of mac salad, red skin potato salad, baked beans, a hot dog and grilled kielbasa… then still had room for a piece of a Memorial Day decorated giant chocolate chip cookie AND a piece of Julie’s birthday cake with a little ice cream!!

In music news… my tribute band audition is set for June 10th at 8:00pm!! Very excited to see how this goes… 🙂

May 28… Mom to her eye doctor… he’s very pleased… the pressure in her eyes has stabilized and her vision is excellent so the drops he prescribed are doing their job… it helps that we switched the drops back to CVS as the Pines either wasn’t ordering them when they should or their provider wasn’t sending them… either way it was always a battle and sometimes Mom would miss a day or two because they never arrived or weren’t given to her (she does them herself)… and we’re also positive now that the Pine’s provider was charging them for full bottles and only providing half as she’s had plenty of drops left when her refills have been ready rather than running out… ridiculous…

I got home to find a large box on our deck… Julie’s birthday present that was due to arrive Saturday had shown up early!! She wanted a trike to pedal around the neighborhood as her ortho doctor had said she could and it would help her knees… it took me 2 hours to convince myself that I had the derailer on and in the right place… the instructions are practically non-existent and the pictures are for a different model which didn’t help… after about 5 hours I had the frame together, the wheels on and the chain together and in position… only 30 more pages of instructions for tomorrow… if we manage a 2nd day without rain… 🙂

May 29… NOPE!! Rained overnight and more showers expected today… the weather in our area over the last few years has been the worst I can remember (I heard that)…

June 2… Rustic Spirit wanted to rehearse before my first live fill-in with them… ran through all the more complicated tunes from Friday’s set list in a heartbeat then they realized it was a 3 set gig and they’d need more tunes… they seemed shocked when I told them they could add anything from the master list they originally sent me because I’d learned them all… being prepared never gets old… 🙂

I also told them that I fully recognize that this is their regular drummer’s gig and if whatever caused the conflict on those dates changed, just let me know and I’ll step aside – not a big deal…

June 4… got a nervous text from Rustic’s lead singer saying that their drummer was now available for Friday’s gig… I told him that was no problem at all… 🙂 Working full time, I guess I have the luxury of being a ‘nice guy’ but I’m not out to steal anyone’s gig – that’s not how this should work… my goal (as was the case with the year and a half when I filled in with my last band) was to be able to jump in and get them through those shows unnoticed… it keeps me sharp and gets me out in public so, if another band had an opening, maybe they’d think of me… not everyone thinks this way but that’s their problem – not mine… 🙂

I did come to one realization at the rehearsal… when I arrived at the studio, in the drum booth was a set of Sonor drums with the 3 up / 1 down tom configuration the same as my regular kit… after playing on them for a couple hours, I knew I wouldn’t be content or totally comfortable with the smaller kit… tonight, after I got home from work and had some supper (and waited for the hottest day of the year so far to drop below 90), I unpacked the entire kit in the driveway, removed all the added hardware and repacked everything back to my original configuration… I’m convinced that it’s so close to taking up the same space as the small kit (which almost filled the same rug as its’ big brother) and only adds one more trip to load in or out, that all parties concerned will be happier with my decision… I already told them I’d be using my in-ear monitors so there won’t be a giant floor wedge next to me which will save some space… now I’m just hoping we don’t get rained out this Saturday though it doesn’t look promising…

We were only a couple songs in but I felt just like I did when I was doing 80-90 of these a year… I was loose and flowing – hitting every kick and stop and smiling the whole time… going back to my regular setup was definitely the right choice… then the magic happened… people had phones out taking videos and screaming and dancing… coming up to the band for hand shakes and fist bumps… and it got better and better as the night went on… drinks and praise from the patrons and bar staff… the energy was everywhere and I fed off it!!

The second show (set) was even better and at the end of it all, there were all these people waiting for us… pictures and more fist bumps, high fives, hand shakes and hugs and pictures and stories and people (including my bandmates) saying how amazing I played… it was nice to have a ‘rock star’ moment like this after such a long layoff (and some serious self-doubt)… this was how I wanted to celebrate my 50th year of drumming… but my favorite part happened between sets…

A familiar looking woman came up to me and told me her late husband was a drummer and that I was bringing back all those old feelings she had… she thanked me repeatedly and gave me a hug… she said he had passed a couple years ago so I asked if he was from the area since I knew most of the drummers… he was from Fort Edward his entire life and his name was Gary Smith… I stepped back and said, “Smitty?!?” She replied a confused, “Yes!!” I told her, “I’m DJ – I taught him in the Fort Edward corps (Vagabonds) and taught and marched with him Capitol Brass in Albany!!” The band had introduced me by my given name and it didn’t click with her (and I’d only met her a few times – the last at his funeral) but with that, she hugged me again and started crying… this was the icing on the cake for a very special night for me. Thank you Dave, Sonny, Pete and Jeff from Rustic Spirit and to everyone at Dalias On the Hudson!!! 🙂

June 10… the Pat Benetar tribute band audition went great but wasn’t quite what I was hoping for… very nice people and I wish them well and look forward to seeing them live but I have a couple more auditions lined up… fingers crossed… 🙂

June 13… the beginning of my first back-to-back weekend in years…

Started the weekend off at Sully’s East in Glens Falls on their beautiful patios and the rock-solid raised deck (code enforcement says they can’t call it a stage)… plenty of room and pretty deep!! But it was cold… 🙂 I’d been watching the weather all week and it was supposed to be 70’s and partly sunny but what we got was cloudy, damp and just over 60 – and that was 5:00 while we were setting up!! By the time we played at 8:00 I had my cap on and between shows had to add a light jacket…

Not sure if it was the cold or stressing over the parade the next day but I could not get loose or comfortable and played like crap from start to finish… maybe it was the finish that had me most worried – my first live attempt of ‘Flirtin’ With Disaster’… my hi-hat pedal felt out of position all night and I struggled to execute the more basic open / close patterns so, after a couple feeble attempts, I moved the signature hi-hat licks to my China crash… the guys thought I played great the whole night but I was disgusted and debating retirement again… got a few weeks off before the next gig with them… hopefully I can get my shit together…

June 14… the Alumni Drumline hits the street after a short layoff in the Saratoga Flag Day Parade!! 2 snares, 2 quints, 1 cymbal but the full (5) bass line!! Congratulations Matt (#3 bass) on your engagement!! Very exciting news!! 🙂

The parade wasn’t as large as in years past but this seems to be the trend everywhere and I have a feeling parades will cease to exist in the next 10-20 years. But, at least on this day, and despite a slight drizzle before stepping off, people were 5 deep all along Broadway!! Every time we’d fall out of formation and play to one side or the other, BOTH sides would erupt in cheers and applause!! My personal take is that we’re about the only if not THE only group to interact with the parade goers in such a fashion – almost like we’re breaking down an invisible wall. We had a blast and it showed and people loved us and that’s why we’re still doing it after all…

Next stop – South Glens Falls Holiday Parade if all goes as planned… 🙂

Here are some pictures from Saratoga (I’m still hunting for videos to share)…

June 21… some sad news to report… a few weeks ago, Barnwell – the facility in Valatie that Julie’s Mom was in – called to say she had become aggressive and a little violent and they were transferring her to a facility in Connecticut to try to find medications that might help… she returned to Barnwell about a week later and was doing well… last week (Father’s Day) they called and said she wasn’t eating much and struggling to stay awake which had them concerned so they were sending her to Columbia Hospital in Hudson…

90 minutes later we were pulling into the ER parking lot… she was awake but her speech was incoherent – almost like a stroke… their initial tests determined she had pneumonia in both lungs and a fever plus abdominal pain which didn’t go along with the other symptoms… they did abdominal and brain scans – both showed nothing… Julie was talking to her and playing some of her favorite oldies music on her phone… her Mom seemed to try to sing along and her feet would move like she was dancing which made us all smile… Julie already planned on spending the night and I headed home after about an hour because the dogs would have been alone inside for about 6 hours by the time I got back home (they did really well – no accidents)…

The next day (Monday) I went back to pickup Julie as the doctor had told her that they discovered a severe UTI (UTI’s in older people can make them behave very erratically and made me wonder if that wasn’t behind her aggressiveness) but her Mom seemed to be responding to the antibiotics and, if all went well, she could be transferred back to Barnwell by Friday… but that wouldn’t happen…

Last Friday (June 20th) they called late morning to say she wasn’t doing well and we should come down as they didn’t think she’d make it through the night… I rushed home – stopping on the way to pickup Selena at her work so Mike would have transportation… he would head down after work and I would head back home to tend to the dogs… she was on full oxygen – not breathing on her own and was not responsive… the hospital had kept her breathing and comfortable until we arrived then began reducing levels per her DNR (do not resuscitate)…

Mike and Selena stayed until about 9:00pm that night and Julie stayed so her Mom wouldn’t die alone… she would pass about noon today… 🙁