I don’t know if I ever dared dream that I’d be drumming at this age (picture at right from 1978) or how much longer I will be able to continue but here I am still doing it – starting my 5th full year with Funk Evolution…
I think I’d like to be a member of FE until I hit 60 at least – that would be quite a landmark and is less than a year and a half away…
Funk Evolution continues to grow its fan base which means more venues and plenty of weddings. This year we’ll travel to Rochester and Philly for receptions!! I doubt we’ll surpass the shear number of weddings from 2018 but we already have a ton in 2020 so FE must be doing something right. As for me I guess I’ll have to see how I hold up physically…
I’ve been battling Tendonitus in both elbows since May 2018 along with a minor spranged left wrist – both of which make playing a challenge – and there isn’t enough time off for them to fully heal but otherwise my health is good. Type II Diabetes and borderline high blood pressure (doctors keep changing the numbers) both seem to be under control and I’ve made a conscious effort to play a little lighter so as not to abuse my hands and joints or equipment…
January 11-12 – FE took a week off after the huge success of NYE at Rivers but the new year is off to a rocky start…
We were scheduled to return for another two night stint in the Turquoise Tiger room at Turning Stone Casino BUT, just a week before the gig, the casino cancels us because they’ve ‘booked a private party’ in the room Friday night. Rocco spent the better part of a day trying to get it resolved but, just like back in November, we’re OUT. This was the last straw for Rocco so I doubt we’ll ever play there again… they asked us to hold two weekends open for them in the fall but that’s not happening… their pay scale is equal or BELOW many bars we play and obviously a booking and contract means nothing to this venue… and because it’s part of the Oneida Reservation we can’t fight the contract in American court… I guess it was just a chance we took and we were lucky we actually played the last 2 or 3 times they booked us but now the old adage has come to life… burn me once – shame on you, burn me twice , shame on me… bye-bye Turning Stone!!
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January 19 – the rocky start continues…
FE got a few last minute Hunter Mountain additions to the schedule but I already committed to an indoor guard exhibition with AGAD at Shenendehowa so I had to ask FE to find a sub for this first one…
Now it turns out the entire area is getting hit with the ‘storm of the century’!! Storm warning from 4:00pm today until 4:00pm tomorrow!! Heavy snow overnight… up to 3 inches / hour at times!! AND blowing and drifting!! Hunter is right on the borderline between snow and an icy mix… The Governor has closed the thruway to trucks and buses after 3:00pm today!!
Shen had the God given good sense to cancel the show last night so, other than picking up Selena at work around 9:00 tonight, I won’t have to be on the roads.
I feel terrible for the rest of the band because Hunter won’t cancel because the nearby hotels are sold out… the almighty dollar wins again. I hope my bandmates have safe travels… I am consumed by the guilt of not being part of it but thankful I don’t have to make my way back over the mountain tonight in the storm… Sabrina and I each travel another hour (on good roads)… this will not be fun I’m afraid… 🙁
UPDATE: I’m happy to report that everyone made it home from the gig safely!! Nick did have a three spin wipe out but at ‘parade speed’ so in the end his rear bumper gently slid into a guard rail… he was understandably shaken but otherwise fine… Two more on the schedule – hopefully there’s better weather next time. And that storm?? It dumped almost 30 inches of snow here at home while there was less snow but more icing in the Albany area and to the south and east… not good traveling conditions to say the least…
January 25 – FE’s debut at Sparetime in Clifton Park… lots of new faces… very well received but oddly little dancing… nobody left so we must have done something right… back again in a few weeks…
Somewhere in here Josh (our bass player) let us know that he’d be leaving the group in June… He’d already blacked out a couple weeks there for a trip he and his wife had planned but after about 8 years with FE and several years with other groups before that he decided the time was right to step back and enjoy some family time. We can’t blame him a bit and wish him and Sarah nothing but the best!! I DO still enjoy playing – especially with this group – but a big part of that was how comfortable and easy Josh made it to play together… The bottom line is that we’re now taking recommendations and setting up auditions for his replacement… more news to come…
January 26 – FE’s 3rd consecutive year as the entertainment of choice for the Fuller Road Fire Company’s Installation Banquet… nice bunch of people but it’s the same each year – they start cocktail hour at 5:00, have dinner 6:00 – 8:00, have speeches and awards until 9:00 give or take and schedule us from 9:30 – 1:00… by 10:00 more than half of the attendees usually head home… by 11:30 it’s getting lonely… by 12:30 there’s 5 or 6 people left if anyone… last night was a little better – maybe 10-15 people around midnight… My personal feeling is that if the party starts at 5:00 and I stayed until the band finished that’s 8 hours… they might as well put a workday in!! 🙂 For me I put almost 2 days in… I arrived at 2:00 (because we have to be clear before cocktail hour) to learn there was a convention in the ballroom until 3:00… they knew they had to get the stage down first because we’re always early so it was after 3:30 before we were able to load in and setup… I was on the road about 1:40 so all together that was almost a 12 hour day – 14 with travel time…
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February 1 – what has become our annual ‘audition’ for Nanola to see if we draw and keep a crowd… the joke has become, when a venue asks if your band draws a crowd, the reply should be ‘does your club?’…
The way this works now is we pack the place and by the time Nanola decides they want us back we’re already booked elsewhere…
Not a big deal anymore… I’m still hearing that the staff isn’t friendly and that’s IF you can get someone to stop and take an order… it’s never good when patrons tell the band we sounded great, they’d love to stay, but they have to leave a restaurant to go elsewhere to get something to eat… Sadly, the club seems to be losing its crowd…
Then someone is telling the band their singer needs to show more boobs?!? Really?!? NOW I suspect that some of the staff and clientele that used to frequent the now closed Bayou Cafe in Glenville have made their way to Nanola… played there once and vowed never to return… Nanola is run by some of the same people… uh-oh…
I did get to break in a new shirt from the wife… “I know I play drums like an old man… try to keep up!!” 🙂
February 10 – FE is the only live band invited to participate in the Nicole Bridal Wedding Showcase at the NYS Museum…
I never enjoy the unknown of load ins and parking and I’d played a number of these wedding exhibitions back in my Upstarts days and they were always the same… the day was an endless barrage of people telling us we were too loud, etc…
It all turned out to be fine… I was there as soon as they opened the doors – pulling into the drop-off area right in front of the doors… I was told to call a guy as soon as I pulled up and he’d bring me a cart… instead I was directed to the lobby where I found tiny carts more suitable for peddling desserts than moving equipment… I wheeled my gear using my own devices to the bays of elevators, was directed to a larger one by security and made my way to the 4th floor where I found Jeff Pitcher setting up sound… HOORAY!! We met Jeff when we played the Glove Theater and later learned that Rocco has hired him on full time now…
In their infinite wisdom and planning they positioned the band in front of the emergency exit then told us we couldn’t block the doors so I was tucked in a corner on one side while Josh and Jay (bass and guitar) were in the opposite corner… we could barely see or hear each other but we were in and would make it work for the hour they wanted us to play. Good thing Nick couldn’t make it because there was no place to put him and we ended up playing the gig without keys or his vocals.
We were initially told there’d be a curtain put in place when we were done so we could pack and make an inconspicuous exit… INSTEAD, they came by to tell us the fashion show would start directly in front of us in 15 minutes… thanks. But no one seemed to care that Jeff (our new sound guy) and I were breaking down gear behind the show…
There was a 15 minute break between fashion shows and I thought I could make it if I staged my gear by the elevators… first load… a second… and… nope – I’m stuck on the elevator side. I decided to get a jump on my escape and kill time by moving those first two loads to the ground floor but of course the doors closed before I could get the second load off… I spent 10 minutes pushing buttons and waiting for that car to come down again with my second load… by then the show was over so I quickly grabbed my last two trips and waited for an elevator… I re-positioned gear three times – each time in front of the wrong door… for something that should have been pretty easy I was never so happy to be finally loaded and on the road.
That night we learned from Rocco that he had booked one wedding from the show that afternoon and another that night so I guess it was all worth it…
February 15 – FE heads back to Van Slyck’s in Rivers Casino for what I called the ‘Con-function’ night…
The casino had a big country show in the Events Center with Mark Wills and Lorie Morgan and had cancelled us a month prior… a couple weeks ago Rocco was confirming some other dates and they asked if we were all set for this night… we sent the email where they had cancelled us… ‘Oh’ they said… ‘We wanted a country band in the lounge to go with the big show but they all seemed to be booked’ so they needed us back… this reminded me of Thanksgiving Eve there when no one at the casino knew we were coming and they had a guy scheduled for trivia…
It turned out to be a great crowd and I don’t think too many of them were from the country show because that started at the same time we did…
Later in the night we had a few special guests… Dave and Renee from Skeeter Creek and Gregg Simmons from Cryin’ Out Loud… made for a fun night.
February 16 – my first trip to Hunter Mountain for this year…
It was a gorgeous day and the place was packed with over 4000 people… and not a single one knows enough to get out of someone’s way when they’re moving heavy equipment!! On one trip I had 4 – yes, FOUR – people looking me straight in the eyes and walk right into me and my load!! It’s unbelievable and almost comical… and they don’t say a word – they just look at me like I shouldn’t be there interrupting their day…
Once we started playing it was a great crowd and they loved everything we threw at them – old and new!!
Getting out was much easier and with the early start time I was home before 11:00pm even with the 2 hour drive.
February 27 – BASS AUDITIONS… In the weeks since Josh gave his notice we’ve received a ton of recommendations from all over and managed to narrow it down to 3 players and tonight are the auditions… Everyone braved a snow storm and treacherous road conditions to get to Kevin’s (lead singer with the Refrigerators) studio… one guy pulled out earlier in the week because he took a recording job on this night… Mike Shudt is leaving Wylder but got hired by the Refrigerators on his way to his audition with us… that left Jared… a recent transplant with some impressive videos who no one else seems to know is in the area…
We rehearsed some of our new material while waiting for his appointed time… then in walks this tall, young, handsome ‘kid’ (because they’re all kids to me at this point)… he sits to my left and plugs in a 5 string bass with fret work like I’ve never seen before… he’s only had our material for a week but there are no signs of any notes… Rocco starts calling tunes and we blew through every one without issue (other than a couple wrong notes)… pretty impressive but I’ll need to wait until I listen to the recordings because I was too busy concentrating on my own playing for fear of falling out from being distracted by his playing… 🙂
The next morning I emailed Rocco after reviewing the reference recordings and Jared did great!! I expressed a couple of concerns to Rocco in an email regarding Jared’s overall bass tone and potential to overplay… I also thought that technically and musically he might be on an entirely different plane from the rest of us and that might lead to what I call ‘Toby Tyler’ syndrome (Toby Tyler was a little boy who ran away to join the circus) and I could foresee him getting bored with cover band life after the ‘novelty’ wore off… And lastly, I told Roc that, when he talked to him (assuming he was offering him the gig), that if Jared had any reservations about playing with me or my abilities to let me know and I would step aside for the future good of FE. In his reply, Rocco thought that was funny because he did speak to him shortly after the audition and Jared told him that he thought the band sounded great ‘but that drummer – is it DJ?? He’s amazing!! I can’t wait to play with him!!’ I’m speechless… I don’t think I’m playing that well – definitely not like I used to before a spranged left wrist, Tendonitis in both elbows and Neuropathy in both feet, etc. – but I guess I can still get the job done. Thank you, Jared!! I’m looking forward to playing with you too!!
March 1 – FE makes its second visit to Spare Time in Clifton Park… After our debut where a packed house pretty much sat and stared at us all night I wasn’t expecting much of a party… AND we were down a key member – no Mikey D so no vocals and no trumpet!! Tony G from drum corps and formerly NY Players committed to sub for Mike months ago then bailed on us a week before the gig because his new band debuted the next night and he needed to be ‘on point’. Anyway, the place was packed and we have plenty of material – even debuting some new tunes and this crowd danced and screamed the entire night!! This was a far cry from our last visit and we totally fed off it and had a fantastic time. Nice work, FE!!
March 2 – met a bunch of fellow drum corps members for Tony’s new band’s debut… Maybe I’m bias (or a little bitter because he blew us off on short notice) but while I thought their first show was very good there was only one ‘holy crap’ moment in a tune I’d never heard… the rest of the set was the same stale NY Players horn choreography… I can’t speak for their playing because they didn’t get into the mix until the 6th song and even then it was barely audible…
The biggest surprise to me was seeing the extremely talented keyboardist Ty nowhere near keys but out front as a lead singer… AND HE OWNED IT!! His performance was highly energetic and charismatic and seemed to carry the night and drive the energy. I mentioned that to Tony and he said they had no idea he would be like that – he doesn’t do anything like that in rehearsal…
FOLLOW UP: Ty left the group a few weeks after this performance… at one point they were down to the 8 most wanted and their drummer posted something online about them having the best rhythm section in the area…
March 5 – Today, FE announced the newest member – Jarod Grieco – who takes the stage on bass guitar with us starting in June.
“A relative newcomer to the Upstate music scene, Jarod Grieco earned his AAS in Music Performance from SCCC in 2012; his Bachelors in Education from SUNY Potsdam in 2014 and his Masters in Jazz Studies from Purchase in 2017. After spending 2 years performing in Manhattan, Jarod returned to Upstate NY where he teaches General Music at East Greenbush’s Goff Middle School.
Now 27 years old, Jarod’s years of experience both academically and professionally mixed with his passion for bassists Geddy Lee and Janek Gwizdala have created a monster bassist with creative dimension as both a section player and soloist on both electric and upright bass across musical genres.
We’re excited to welcome Jarod to the FE family this coming June and look forward to all he will add to the unique soundscape of Funk Evolution Entertainment. “
March 15 – FE returned to Rivers Casino… I have a love / hate thing with this place – at least with the lounge where they force drummers to use their house kit… It’s extremely rare that I get packed and leave before anyone else but this arrangement affords me that opportunity… that said, the kit is a low budget set of Tama drums and the most basic level cymbals (ride, crash and hi-hat) imaginable… I can usually manage to get the drums sounding decent and on this night even had the snare popping but have started bringing my own cymbals (my practice set) and my sample pad of course so I can get in and out with one trip with my hand cart… I never seem to get comfortable on this kit but I can get through the night and it’s nice to be in and out in short order… but still I’m torn… 🙂
Here’s a shot of the crowd we aren’t attracting…
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March 16 – the first St. Patty’s Day bash at Saratoga Winery!! FE’s been playing their Halloween party in a huge tent for several years now… last year’s was so over the top that someone suggested that we do it again for St. Patrick’s Day…–I’ve been faithfully checking the weather forecasts and dreading this one ever since it hit our calendar because I freeze my ass off every year at the Halloween bash… despite having heaters all around the tent’s always freezing cold back where I am – no heat whatsoever… so cold that last year the band picked a theme and dressed up but I had to forego my costume for long underwear, a knit hat and a hoodie!! And the weather for this inaugural Irish party didn’t look promising… 60 the day before but dropping to 30’s the day of and 20’s at night!! DAMN!! Oh well – time to suck it up and bundle up!! BUT WAIT!! The night before at Rivers someone said they thought the Winery planned to have us INSIDE!! Be still my heart…
IT’S TRUE!!!!! The event had quickly sold out but this could explain some of it since it’s not a big venue (hence the tent)…
I arrived a little more than 3 hours before our 8:00pm start time (of course) and was greeted by several of the very nice bar staff who informed me that there was a private party that was scheduled to end at 5:00pm… I chilled in the parking lot for about 30 minutes thinking that by 5:15 they should have made enough progress that I could start rolling in – even if I had to stage things in a corner… I opened the door and ran right into one of the lead bartenders… she said, ” Oh good!! There you are… They’re not budging… maybe if you start moving gear they’ll take the hint because now they’re just taking advantage of us…”–I proceeded to maneuver gear around a crowd of people – most of which barely moved or even acknowledged me… I thought ‘Wow – it’s like the people at Hunter!!’ Later I learned that many of them were NYC people… figures…
April 7 – FE’s last trip to Hunter Mountain for the season for their annual closing weekend party…
They always like to have us outside on the deck for this but the last time it was supposed to be in the 50’s and sunny… it was in the 30’s and snowed 3 times!! The forecast for today was sunny and mid-50’s but I was a little concerned because we had 3 inches of wet snow the day before at home…
When I started out the snow had already disappeared from the driveway and the roads and had melted off the van by 9:30 so I hoped it was a sign as I headed south but I packed and dressed for multiple scenarios of course.
I arrived just ahead of my friend Matt Donnelly (from the Upstarts and now the South Street Saints) who was filling in on keys and learned that we were in fact outside but other than an occasional wind gust it felt pretty good outside… getting there is half the fun as they say… Matt and I made it to the second floor and on to the deck but sound man Jeff Pitcher wasn’t as lucky and got stuck for 10 minutes when the elevator broke down… he was eventually freed and made his way around the other side of the building.
The place wasn’t as packed as usual and one look at the bare spots on the mountain would tell you why but there was still a huge crowd in attendance for the festivities and the weather was by far the best we’d seen…
It was cloudy and a little chilly but when the sun peeked through it felt nice and it came out to stay shortly after we started and I realized I had made the right clothing selection as I watched the others peeling off various layers while I was perfectly comfortable – evening breaking a mild sweat.
Maybe it was the couple of weeks we had been off but the whole band seemed juiced up for the performance and from the first note the band was smokin’ and the crowd was nuts!! The Hunter Mountain Queen tried to adorn Justin with a lovely decoration but he would have no part of it… but Rocco managed to slip behind me mid-song and get it over my cap (below)… thanks. 🙂
It was a crazy day and we made a number of new friends and fans… like Zelda – a purebred Rottweiler (at left)… the heavy chain was just for show as she was a total sweetheart… After multiple encores we called it a day and were swamped by people complimenting our performance and asking for pictures.
I loved the early start because, even with the longer haul to find a ramp and avoid the elevator and a late day private party, I was still loaded and on the road with plenty of daylight left for the 10-15 mile trip over mountain backroads back to the thruway.
UPDATE: While I thought I’d taken enough precautions apparently the 3 seconds I took to change hats exposed my hairless dome just long enough because, as usual, I came away with a nasty head cold. I started getting the scratchy throat on the trip home… now I’m into day 5 and can barely swallow… If it follows the usually pattern it will move to my head in a few days and eventually go away in another week or two… and that’s with cold medicine!!
April 20 – Easter weekend so we weren’t expecting much of a crowd at Rivers Casino but I’m so jones-ing to play I don’t care… let’s rock!!
I don’t know if it was the anticipation or the long layoff but I was ready and felt like I was on top of my drumming game – even on the house kit!! From the reactions of those in attendance (and it did turn out to be a really good crowd) I must have been doing something right… there’s still no one I’d rather share a stage with!! Thanks, FE!!
April 27 – FE’s first outdoor gig of the year… the block party for the season opener of the Albany Empire indoor football team!!
It was typical April / May weather… mid 40’s… windy… on and off light rain… and the threat of SNOW!! I’d say this was definitely ‘football’ weather – just not for this time of year… Though it could be worse… they said last year Audio Stars played the home opener and it was 30 with a wind chill in the 20’s!!
We had to be stage dark by 4:00 when the festivities started so I arrived at 1:00 and Albany PD parked me right behind their lieutenant’s car – I couldn’t have been any closer to the stage – thank you. I made my way to the stage only to find the Aces crew (sound company) just starting to unload their truck so I knew it would be a while… bathroom break, spoke to some nice people in the TU then back to the van because it was COLD.
I checked in with the Aces again about 2:00 and was told I could have stage access around 2:30… I started staging next to the stairs to the stage about 2:20 and did manage to get setup in time for sound check around 3:45… and my triple layers kept me comfortable and my hands had plenty of blood flow from setting up and felt normal despite the temps… But we still weren’t sure anyone would want to street party in these conditions… they did!!
It turned out to be a great party and Aces had us sounding like rock stars!! And we’re back for 2 more block parties this year!! I’m sure it’ll be warmer then… 🙂
May 3 – FE returns to Nanola… I just never know what to expect here… will anyone show up?? Will anyone even notice?? Our regular sound guy and his gear couldn’t make it so Rocco dug his gear out of storage and brought back Aaron Currado for the night but how would that go??
I moved in and started setting up and before long the place was filling up nicely…
Tameka paid us a visit and did a few tunes with us and later Jarod (bass) came up for a few… It was one of the better crowds FE’s had there but, as happens every time, the 2nd set ends about 11:30 and the place starts to empty… there were several groups that I’m pretty sure had musicians with them who had told me how much they loved my playing – that I really held everything together… a new staff member Chris was seeing us for the first time loved the band and especially my playing so I must have been having a decent night…
May 18 – what a crazy day this was – a TRIPLE for me…
It started with Avant Garde Alumni drum corps camp at Catholic Central in Lansingburgh on one of the nicest days we’ve had yet. Drum line chose to stay outdoors and, while it was a perfect day, I got pretty sun burnt – despite having to leave early to make the first of 2 FE gigs this day…
I planned on leaving about 2:00 when Rocco sent word that the City of Troy was being problematic about when the street could be blocked off so our 3:00-5:00 window got pushed back and we’d be lucky to start by 4:00. With that news in hand I settled in for another hour of drum line. We’d been going non-stop since about noon and when we took a break at 2:45 I took the opportunity to change into jeans and head for downtown in hopes of finding a parking spot I didn’t need to take a cab from to get near the stage…
I didn’t need to setup my kit because Jeff Dudoire (drummer with Skeeter Creek who performed after us) had graciously invited me to use his kit – thank you, Jeff!! A year ago we had a similar show at Birch Hill and I setup all my stuff for Jeff and Chris Toma (filling in with the Audio Stars)… Jeff said he’d return the favor one day… 🙂
We knew the later start time was a possibility during the week and I was concerned with getting out of Troy and to Rivers Casino for an 8:00 start…
I rolled into Troy and starting scouting open spots and managed one around the corner from the stage and less than a block away… perfect!!
As I turned the corner about 3:45 I was shocked to see nothing setup and the stage still being assembled!! So much for a 4:00 start… And Jeff had been there waiting since about 1:30!! I’m so sorry, Jeff – I owe you big time!!
After a while they finished building the stage and Jeff proceeded to setup this enormous (at least to my stature) and beautiful set of acrylic DW drums with a gorgeous rolled brass snare that had to weigh 30 pounds!! I helped as much as I could and when I sat down I felt like a 4 year old…
I could barely reach the pedals with my feet or the toms and cymbals with my hands!! I setup my pad and tried to find a comfortable place for my sample foot trigger pedal… I eventually got into a position where I thought I could play but could already feel the strain on my inner thighs and hip… I’ve had this feeling before and knew it would be trouble later.
We didn’t start until almost 4:45 and about 5:00 the sun cleared the top of the stage and beat down on us all for the next hour!! And I realized quickly that I hadn’t had any water all day – including earlier at drum corps camp – uh-oh… It wasn’t long before my right calf started cramping up (my tell-tale dehydration sign)… Thankfully Sabrina had packed an extra water and I made it through the just-over-an-hour set but could barely stand or walk…
I’ve always prided myself on being able to play just about anything and hopefully make them sound good but as stunning as that monster kit was, I think it was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been which was mostly my fault because I hate to make a lot of adjustments to other people’s gear even though Jeff kept telling me to make myself comfortable… story time…
My kit is racked and memory locked so everything is in the exact same position every night right down to my throne… one night someone sat in and unlocked the thrown and radically adjusted it and it took me weeks to get it back where it felt right… I refuse to do that to anyone else.
Click the image below for a clip of FE playing September (and I hope I don’t look as awkward as I felt)…
So I ended up pulling muscles and cramping from dehydration… and still had to pack my sampler and haul ass to Rivers!!
I made it back to the van, cranked the AC and hit the road… I started drinking again and eventually felt up to eating the sandwich and snacks I’d packed… I rolled into Rivers to find it jam packed and managed to find a spot at the far end of the lot (I think I was closer to Centre Street Pub than the casino)… 🙂
I made my way inside to find (you guessed it) another bare stage… the Preakness was running on the giant panel behind the stage and they weren’t allowed to set anything up until after the race AND the Ceremony of Flowers… figures… I texted everyone so they didn’t bust a hump getting there and we managed to get setup and start by 8:15. And I made myself much more comfortable on this kit since everyone adjusts it every week… 🙂
There were a few familiar faces in the crowd and everyone was saying we were killing it!! This made me feel better because, for 3 sets, I would be stretching or have to stand every 3 or 4 tunes to try to relieve the cramps in my calf and hope I didn’t embarrass myself by passing out (mostly because I might have falling back into the panel and no one’s allowed anywhere near that)… 🙂
By the time I was on the road and headed home I was feeling a little more like myself but worried what shape I’d be in for day 2 of drum corps camp the next day… turned out that, other than some occasional light-headedness, I made it through pretty well… Two days later I still haven’t shaken it… I guess this weekend kind of kicked my ass… and AGAD has a parade tomorrow night… fingers crossed!!
May 22 – down a bass of course with Matt back in Boston, Avant Garde Alumni Drumline set out to do the best we could for our first performance of 2019…
We reviewed a lot of our old repertoire, picked out what we thought we could play for the night and set out on the parade route which is about a mile longer than it needs to be… my personal guess is that the large empty parking lot where the parade forms is the only one available between there and downtown Waterford where the crowd was (except for a few smaller groups just outside town)…
My calf was getting tight early on but loosened up nicely as we progressed and by the half-way mark the line was playing well and people were screaming everywhere!! Great night AGAD!!
May 24 – FE’s debut at Frog Alley Brewing in downtown Schenectady…
Seems like this came from out of nowhere but we suddenly have a ton of dates here…
I wasn’t sure what to expect with nothing to go on but Google maps and satellite imagery but I had a pretty good idea of where I might try to park (just across the street appeared to be about as close as I could get)… Worked perfectly… other than all the construction barriers and fencing along the other side of the street… and the massive food truck that smelled amazing…
I always do a walk through / meet and greet visit to scout everything out and introduce myself rather than just start wheeling things in… What a place!! The first thing I saw was the giant patio… when the weather is more predictable we’ll be out there… then the huge oval shaped bar that was dissected by glass garage doors that opened to the patio… Everything was first class!! And I met some of the nicest staff of just about any place we play!! Very friendly and welcoming which made me look all the more forward to playing… and loading in couldn’t have been easier!!
I was reminded of the old video game Frogger as that is what I must have looked like trying to dodge traffic and wheel my gear across State Street but once I hit the sidewalk I turned the corner and up the ramped entrance into Frog Alley’s Taproom. I was instructed to just go around the end of the bar where a duo was performing and I’m always painfully aware of disrupting another performer’s gig but there was no other way so I tried to be as inconspicuous and quiet as possible.
Justin (who I’d never met) from Apex Sound was filling in for Jeff on this night and as I was setting up he started testing the PA – first just mic checks then with music… and very loudly… I was growing more and more uncomfortable as the duo was still performing and I thought about saying something but he eventually stopped… then he did the same thing with the monitors… c’mon, man – show some respect and common sense!!
A little while later the duo was on break and I noticed a woman out of the corner of my eye standing in front of the stage… she asked when we started and if I was the one who did the band’s Facebook page then I recognized her as the singer from the duo… after a few minutes I leaned in and apologized for Justin – letting her know that he was a sub and how bad I felt about what he had done which she appreciated… she said we’d probably see her dancing since she couldn’t wait to hear us and wanted to catch Rocco later in hopes of getting on the substitute singer list… I returned to setting up and Justin came over… I could tell he was struggling with something in the PA… turned out the extension to the digital mixer wasn’t working so he didn’t have enough channels and wondered what we could do… of course I still carry 2 small sub-mixers so I retrieved them from the van and sent my 4 toms to one channel which gave him the headroom he needed for the rest of the band… I would have been a good Boy Scout… 🙂
The band arrived later but the duo never stopped until we were scheduled to start so there was no sound check other than a quick run through of the drums… the night was plagued with feedback, frequent white noise pops and constant monitor issues… no one in the back could hear anything all night but we got through it and the crowd seemed to really be into everything we threw at them. And that singer?? She stayed the entire extended 90+ minute 1st set. People were really into it so why stop??
We did the same thing on the last set… when our stop time rolled around there was still a large crowd… I didn’t notice the time but Rocco said afterwards that he saw that the band was all smiles so we went 20+ minutes over.
As for me physically, coming off last weekend and a parade 2 days previously, I felt great. It probably helped that it was hot in there and I had a good sweat going which usually helps keep me loose… it was great to finally be on my own kit again!! And a minor tweak of raising my hi-hat 2 inches with a block of wood made tremendous difference!! I can’t wait to make our 2019 debut on Dango’s deck tomorrow night but the weather isn’t looking great…
My view from the stage (the outdoor patio sits to the right)…
Those colored shipping containers are setup with counters and stools to accommodate various vendors… there is a similar set inside where one was open and was popping corn and selling Frog Alley merchandise… very cool
May 25 – and so begins another summer residency on the deck at Dango’s on Caroline Street…
Heavy rains just blew through which might explain why Saratoga seemed relatively quiet… busy – but still not bustling like it usually is… I arrived 4 hours ahead of our start time because, as you know if you’ve been following along, parking is nearly impossible but I’ve developed some theories that have served me well over the years – one of which is arriving early – I mean 30-60 minutes earlier than my normal 3 hour window… I don’t mind being able to take my time carting gear down and up the stairs just to get to the stage… I DO mind that the staff is usually miserable and I can rarely get served if I want a Coke, AND after all these years and all those bands, that’s still the only way to load in and out… I always feel like the venue is saying ‘if you want to play here then deal with it’… how would it go tonight??
I arrived just after the rains and the sun was peeking through occasionally but it was windy and getting cooler by the minute… As I said I rolled in at 5:30 (4 hours until start time) and there was a lot of traffic so I thought I might have to wait a while for a spot to open in the library / public lot (the only parking anywhere near Dango’s when you have a load) but those cars must have all been fleeing the area because I pulled right into one of my favorite spots… within minutes 3 or 4 others opened and quickly filled.
Jeff from Apex Audio was on sound and almost completely setup because his company was also doing another band around the corner… we chatted while I made trip after grueling trip with all my cases… for comparison, I can wheel everything I bring into most other venue in 4 trips and be totally setup – including cleaning, tuning and mics and cabling – in about an hour (less if under time constraints)… tonight that same process required 7 trips and took just under 2 hours!!
The crowd was light when we began but, as usually happens when we start playing there, a steady stream of people started filing in from Caroline Street. The tent soon filled and the party was in fill swing…
May 27 – AGAD’s annual double-header of Memorial Day Parades as we hit Lansingburgh in the morning then haul ass to Wynantskill for the afternoon…
It was a beautiful day – I can’t remember the last time we marched in such heat and sun… no fire trucks behind us blasting sirens on this day – instead, we had a military unit doing marching chants then entire way… bring back the sirens… While I loved not having to worry about a rain threat, we were one of the first musical units in the parade which meant no frequent breaks because there were no groups in front of us stopping for the reviewing stand… by the time we reached the end I wasn’t sure I’d make it back to the van since someone in Lansingburgh decided to move the starting lineup location back several blocks (in previous years when we reached the end of the parade our vehicles were just a block or so away)… hopefully some of the marchers spoke up and this is resolved for next year… I was never so happy to see my van… maybe I’m still feeling the affects of the triple header from a week or so ago…
I ate the lite lunch I’d packed on the way to Wynantskill and even had 30-40 minutes to chill before we lined up to do it all again… I was spent but fell in line and we headed out… nice crowd on Main Street but then we turn the corner to no one, go about a block and turn the corner to next to no one… at least many of the residence come out for a private parade viewing… the first year we were playing for squirrels back there… we turned the next corner and the crowd was growing again until we found ourselves back on Main Street with the end in sight… only one thing left to do – find AG Alumni Corps member and friend Tom Newell for a little serenade where we got very up close and personal… 🙂
I made it through and after some time on the highway and some AC I was feeling well enough to stop at the Country Drive-In for an early dinner.
May 31 – FE’s first appearance of the year in the Biergarten at Centre Street Pub… As usual I arrived earlier than usual because landing a parking spot here sometimes takes an hour or more… I thought I heard music and sure enough – there was a duo on the stage… I went inside where the always charming woman who seems to manage things greeted me a typically unenthusiastic ‘oh – hi’ then walked away… I eventually cornered someone who told me the duo wasn’t done until 8:00 (we start at 9:00) but we could pile stuff in the Bocce pit… thanks.
I hung around the lot waiting for a spot to open which only took an hour… then I just chilled for another hour knowing I could roll in and preset my rack in about 30 minutes but that was about it until the stage cleared.
While I was sitting in the van, a small SUV pulled up behind me and two blondes jumped out – each putting empty cans of something right behind me!! I fumed about this the rest of the night… I really wanted to pick them up, take them in and put them on their table – telling them ‘you dropped these in the parking lot’… clueless drunk twits… apparently this is the new clientele CSP is attracting…
The duo took their sweet time but eventually we crammed everyone onto the tiny stage and I could feel it already getting chilly – especially in front of he ivy covered cement wall… the crowd was indifferent at best and, as in recent years, only about half of what it used to be… we’re back July 5th for what may be our last date there this year…
The small crowd was sort of into everything but again I think the CSP crowds we used to see have found a new place to hang… overall it was alright but sometime towards the end of the night Rocco was out front and making his way back on to the stage, tripped and fell – sending a mic stand slamming into the right side of my setup… everything seemed OK so I just kept playing, finished the night, packed and headed home.
June 1 – FE was honored to be invited to perform at this years Skidmore Alumni banquet… we weren’t entirely sure what to expect but it certainly was interesting night…
As usual I arrived well ahead of our 7:00pm stage dark time (4:00 to be precise) to find Skidmore staff putting the finishing touches to the stage… nicest bunch of people… I spent 20 minutes or so talking with them and security staff about musicians and bands we all knew as well as Skidmore staff… the stage was huge and solid and I was anxious to start setting up.
It was pretty warm and in the last day the forecast went from perfect to thunderstorms… great… I kept an eye on the radar and there was a line of storms just hitting Buffalo but I wasn’t sure how the timing might work out… they seemed to fizzle out but others would popup so it might be hard to predict…
I was just finishing setting up after cleaning and tuning and running all my mics which meant cymbals (always the last thing to go up)… I was unpacking them and wiping off the dust from Centre Street when I noticed a 3 inch crack along the bell of my 18 inch crash!! That must be what took the brunt of the mic stand hit when Rocco fell… great. It still sounded OK but cracks like that never get better… I showed Rocco and he said he’d make it good but I knew it was an accident… guess I have to go shopping…
Dinner started at 7:30 and the huge tent was filling up nicely… someone said there were a couple thousand people on campus for the day and by this time several hundred of them had to be in the tent…
We launched into our set at 9:00… a couple people started dancing… then a couple more… the second number was Conga so I kicked into my 45 second Wil Smith sample intro and the dance floor started to fill… within a couple more songs the giant dance floor was packed!! People jumped on stage to join us multiple times which always makes us nervous… one older woman knocked into Nick’s keys over and over and never noticed… About half way through someone said it was raining but that quickly dissipated in time for fireworks – by which time the dancing crowd had overflowed off both sides of the floor!!
This was one of the hottest crowds we’ve seen in sometime and we were determined not to lose them after fireworks even though the prospect of an hour and 45 minute set was a little daunting… we started playing and it was like everyone picked up where they had left off… it was crazy and I could feel myself and the rest of FE feeding off all this energy – what a great time!! The dance floor couldn’t hold any more and people were wrapping around the sides of the stage…
We’d just finished Sabrina’s signature ‘What’s Going On’ with the loudest sing-along I think I’ve ever heard and moved into Mikey D’s rendition of ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ and again it seemed like everyone was singing and dancing – amazing!! Then it got really weird…
Next up was ‘Ignition’… I started the song, the band joined in but after the first chorus I could see Skidmore personal on the stairs to my left… Mike stopped singing, the band stopped playing and Rocco announced the the weather was taking a nasty turn and Skidmore was shutting the party down and asked everyone to leave the tent immediately!!
As I said earlier I’d been watching the radar but I didn’t see anything that close during the fireworks and skies were clear… but they felt a storm was going to hit within 30 minutes and wanted everyone safely out of he area which made sense.
What I didn’t know was that when Mikey started singing this song a group of people rushed the stage flipping him off with both hands and screaming ‘F#$k you!!’ ‘Stop singing that f*&king song!!’ They were booing and jeering and screaming at him and the rest of the band and I missed the whole incident. Mike was talking about it as we packed and was understandably pretty shaken by it… I guess the guy who recorded the song had been accused or arrested for sexual assault a while back… we played the song a week earlier and had no such reactions but I think, knowing what I know now, it should definitely come off our set list. Mike took to Facebook and recanted the chain of events and was met with mixed reactions – some people saying we should have known better while others said it was a typical over-reaction by Liberal, self-entitled brats who are representative of most Skidmore alums… well, not ‘most’ at least not in this case as 99% of the crowd was singing along as before… either way it was not a comfortable situation. Prior to that I thought it was one of the best crowds we’d ever played for and I hoped we’d be asked back… now I’m not sure I’d want to go back there… Anytime I’m on the Skidmore campus I reminded of the movie ‘Eddie & the Cruisers’ when they played a college gig… they felt like the freak show from the circus… Other than shouting obscenities at us over that one song, none of the alumni spoke a word to us all night… aaaaaaah – back to being the ‘hired help’.
June 4 – What’s this?? FE has a Tuesday night corporate event at the Hall of Springs… I’m game… FE’s first time performing for the New York Association of School Business Officials…
I was curious and excited because the itinerary showed an aerial act right before we started… I arrived to find a guy and two girls assembling some sort of apparatus… when they finished I had nightmarish flashbacks to the rope climb in gym class… 🙂 But what these ladies could do was absolutely breathtaking!!
We weren’t sure what to expect as far as dancing so we sort of eased into things a little early while the aerial people broke down their gear in the middle of the dance floor… it started slow… then a couple… then a couple more… Rocco was still reusing set lists and had nothing prepared for this crowd so he was calling tunes left and right but we got through it… We were supposed to play 9:30 – 11:00pm but speeches went quick, dinner was finished early and the acrobat’s show only lasted 10 minutes so, rather than risk losing a lot of the audience, our night consisted of one 2 hour and 20 minute set!! In the end, the people that hired us were shocked… they didn’t expect anyone to stay past 10:00 let alone right up to 11:00!! The catering company said the same thing – they never expected to have to kick people out at 11:00… It wasn’t the huge, crazy party from Saturday but we accomplished our mission and made a lot of key people very happy.
June 7 – Sit back and relax for I have a tale to tell… this could be the most exciting yet most bizarre weekend I’ve ever been a part of!!
Last year the Avant Garde Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps was assembled so that former members could march down Broadway in Saratoga one last time and that we did – 155 members strong!! In the months that followed there was a growing outcry to do it once more… the committee met and sometime in December it was announced that we would indeed do it again and would be playing the music of Chuck Mangione!! Back in the day it seemed like every corps had at least one of his pieces in their repertoire… I checked the dates and FE had a wedding booked the night of the parade 30 minutes north of me which puts it an hour from Saratoga… I start running logistics through my head on how I could possibly do both… maybe setup at 6:00am then head for Saratoga by 10:00… exhibition 3:00-3:30, a quick shower, jump into a suit and head back to the wedding… yeah – that might work if the venue will let me in that early…
A few days later it was announced that the night before the parade we would be taking part in a tribute concert for Chuck Mangione along with the HS jazz bands from Mohonosen, Saratoga and Schuylerville AND that Chuck Mangione would be there as our guest AND be Grand Marshall of the parade the next day!! I check the calendar again and FE’s at Dango’s the night of the concert… I struggled with this decision for several days… in 44 years as a professional musician I’ve only missed 2 gigs – and only one of them was by choice… FE’s played with numerous subs at clubs and even weddings – even without our regular lead singer!! And this definitely qualified as a once-in-a-lifetime event in my mind (and I don’t have many of those left) so I was confident that no one would even miss me and eventually blacked out the dates on the band calendar after emailing Rocco a long explanation. That was back in January… a few weeks ago Rocco emails me to see if I’m still blacking out the dates… he never booked a sub in all that time!! He and Mikey D scrambled around and locked in Paul Borrello… I hadn’t heard of him but other musicians told me was a great player… I proceeded to send him song lists and links to reference recordings and I went on about preparing for an incredible drum corps weekend which brings us back to June 7th…
The corps had rehearsed the night before and looked and sounded great!! The only downside was we learned that our #3 bass (Matt) was sick in Boston and wasn’t going to make either of the performances… I’d been playing his parts all through the winter camps so it wasn’t a big deal though I’d have to read charts but at least the middle pitch would be present in the performance…
I arrived at Lake Avenue Elementary School around 4:30 because at the last camp I’d been asked to drum with the Tri-Valley Brass as the audience entered the auditorium and thought I would need to load in and setup my small kit but there was a small set there for everyone to use which worked out perfectly. It was a little stressful having never played with them before (and no drum charts) but it was mostly Dixie music and was sort of fun…
After about 30 minutes we cleared out and headed for the corps picture with Chuck Mangione!!
The HS jazz bands were phenomenal!! Then the drumline made its way onto the stage where we’d play the hornline in as they marched down the isles and we all hoped we wouldn’t scare the hell out of everyone as this was going to be LOUD!! And yes-there were people in all those front row seats during the performance!!
It was a night like no other and the best part (which I didn’t find out about until I saw a video clip the next day) was that during our last piece, Mr. Mangione rose to his feet from his VIP seat and was actually conducting!!! They said he was overjoyed with the whole evening and I’m so pleased that I could be part of it.
Above is Mr. Mangione with Corps Director Jeff Perkins…
When it was all over I packed and loaded everything up… a small group wanted to go to Dango’s to see FE and I was a little anxious about my sub AND it was new FE bass player Jarod Greico’s first night…
I arrived just before they started and chatted with everyone and met Paul who’s very nice and kept inviting me to play but I said the gig was all his… I stood there with Nick’s (keyboard) Dad and Rick Eleck from the corps who also drums in a band back in Ithaca… we could all tell something was off… we couldn’t understand what anyone was saying… there were no drums in the mix and no bottom at all… We could see Jeff (sound engineer) and Rocco hopping around to try to resolve it…
About 6 songs in here comes Rocco – climbing over the VIP chairs and tables and chains… he hops down next to me, puts his arm around me and tells me that it’s a disaster up there and that I have to come play!! I thought Paul sounded fine and the problem was more PA related but I could tell the boss was in a panic… he called me up and I played the next hour to the delight of the corps members in attendance but I was ready to go to bed because tomorrow was another long day… I was saying my ‘goodbyes’ when Rocco caught me again and was insistent that I play some more… When they were ready to start the set there was no sign of Paul so I started up but just as I got on the stage Paul arrived so I quickly jumped off and hoped to disappear into the small Dango’s crowd but no such luck… within a few songs Rocco was hunting me down and I played for almost another hour!! At the end of the last few tunes I was whining to Rocco, “Can’t I go home now??” 🙂 He eventually caved and when I hit my car I discovered there was only 20 minutes left… still, I was glad to be heading home but felt bad for Paul and wondered how the wedding would go the next day… Jarod on the other hand was killing it AND helping Paul through many of the tunes… well done!!
The following morning the corps assembled at 10:00am at the Saratoga Elk’s Club for the corps picture and to catch the shuttles to our lineup location where we’d warm up and get a run through in…
Before the drumline could play a note of warmups my phone started blowing up with texts from Rocco asking if there was any way I could make it up to the wedding that night because he was afraid of having an angry bride and groom… After much consideration I told him that I could probably be there just after the mini set but voiced my concern over Paul since this was hardly fair to him… he said he’d take care of it and with that I returned my focus to warming up and the performance at hand…
The parade was fantastic!! People screaming everywhere!! Especially when we hit the reviewing stand and played our entire 2019 book!! Click the graphic above for video from the reviewing stand…
We concluded our performance and made our way into Congress Park to await the shuttles to take us back to the Elk’s for one final exhibition…
As I stood there waiting something strange was happening… I was seeing sparkles in front of my eyes and felt a little light headed… I attributed it to the heat but I had put away a couple bottles of water so I didn’t think I was dehydrated… Over the last several months my doctor had said my blood pressure was a little high and put me on a 10MG pill of some sort… he checked me again a few months later and said it was still high, doubled the does and added yet another pill… when I refilled the first prescription, unbeknownst to me, they had refilled it with 20MG pills and I was still taking 2 of them – essentially quadrupling my original dose!! I was feeling fine but seemed to have trouble staying awake at times… then there was this occasional light-headedness… I attributed this feeling after the parade to that but felt compelled to sit down and after several minutes began to feel better but when I stood up again to get on the shuttle I had to grab hold of a sign post and just hoped I didn’t go down in a heap!! I made it on the bus, got back to the Elks, positioned my gear for the exhibition and made a beeline for the van, some AC, a cold drink and a little food.
As the exhibition time grew closer I decided I’d better try to get back and just needed to make it through one last run through which I did… said some final farewells, loaded the van and an unexplainable feeling of calm came over me and I found myself avoiding the interstate and driving the back roads almost all the way home. I was stiff when I got there but hoped I could stand long enough for a shower then climb into bed for an hour which turned into more than 2 hours!! I had an appetite and proceeded to eat maybe more than usual, picked out a suit and headed for Brant Lake and FE’s wedding where Rocco had already told Paul I was coming and would finish the night.
I arrived, found a parking spot and loaded my sample pad and other necessities onto my cart and made my way in. the party was in a bit of a lull so my timing was perfect… I greeted Paul, setup my pad, Jeff dialed it in and FE launched into their first party set. It was a great party and after I packed I kept looking for Paul… I’d been repeatedly apologizing to him as this was easily the most awkward and uncomfortable thing I’ve ever been asked to do… When he returned he said it was the craziest night he’s ever had… he consumed what he referred to as ‘my’ steak dinner, was sitting on the beach, took a picture and texted someone he knew from up that way telling them that he now knew why he was so screwed up as the area was beautiful… his friend asked where he was and when Paul told him his friend responded that he was on that lake in his boat!! He picked Paul up, took him back to his camp and they sat around a fire having a couple beers while I was playing. I appreciate his putting a happy spin on this but I hope I never am put in that position again… I guess if I don’t blackout any more dates it won’t be an issue…
June 14 – FE returns to Dango’s…
On the plus side it was my first official night with Jarod on bass and he played very well and seems extremely prepared – no notes in sight!! Well done!!
June 15 – FE’s first wedding road trip of the year as we headed to the Ithaca Farmer’s Market – a mere 4 hour drive for me…
I had originally planned on leaving at 8:00am figuring on a 12:15-12:30pm arrival because I remembered reading somewhere that stage dark was around 3:00pm… That turned out to be 5:45 so I slept in a little (after getting home at 3:00am from Dango’s) and hit the road about 10:00 – aiming for a 2:00 arrival since I wasn’t sure of the parking or load in…
I pulled in just after 2:00 (with a couple pit stops along the way of course) and early indications were that this was going to be one of those pain-in-the-ass days… The Farmer’s Market was packed!! I parked a mile away and set out to find anyone who might be able to tell me where to go… I’d read online that the market closed at 3:00 but visitors were still driving in…
I made a couple laps on foot, found a restroom (whew!!) and eventually caught someone in a room labeled ‘office’… I asked if I was in the right spot for a wedding reception (I was) and if she knew where we were supposed to setup… she replied that they don’t allow anyone to setup until at least 4:30pm (that would have been nice to know in advance as it would have meant more sleep)… I explained about our equipment and time constraints but she just smiled and said the event coordinator would be there around 4:00 (I never did see her – the entire night!!)
I headed back to the van and Mikey D pulled in next to me… I related what I knew so far and then we got a text from Jeff (sound guy) that he was a couple miles away and his van had died!! This day just gets better and better!! After some discussion of options Mike offloaded his gear to my van (thankfully he drove his wife’s SUV) and he setup to fit whatever they could. I wandered around and devised an entry and exit strategy which should be easy since the vendors occupying the almost 100 stalls would be packing and leaving soon…
By the time they got back with the first load the chain blocking the road the vendors used was down and I directed them to the area where I was initially told we’d be setting up where we started staging the PA. Soon after they left for another load I was told we were in fact NOT in that location but all the way down in the middle of the building… by now some of the catering / wait staff were sweeping the dusty wood floors and I scrambled to move everything that had been unloaded, by myself, to the new location. I then proceeded to sweep out our ‘stage’ because no one seemed interested and unloaded my gear to begin setting up.
As I was moving my cases into position another truck arrived and dumped about 30 tables and 100+ chairs right where I was about to setup!! Thanks!! They left as soon as the truck was empty leaving the same catering / wait staff that had been sweeping to move and setup all the tables and chairs. Nice…
Some of the nicer ones recognized this and began moving things out of our way while a few were just plain miserable…
We eventually got to setup, adjusted everything and broke out the tarps in case it decided to rain harder later since I was very close to the opening and it was wide open!! Nothing behind me at all!! I covered my sample pad, laid a tarp over my cases which were directly behind me then headed for the motel to check in and get cleaned up and dressed.
I debated what kind of attire would be appropriate… earlier in the week they sent word that it would be pretty casual and Rocco suggested Khakis or Dockers and a button down shirt and, while the place was essentially a dusty barn the banquet tables were looking nice and the wait staff clad in all black so I decided to go for a balance… it was going to be chilly by the end (and never got as warm as predicted during the day) so I knew I wanted to wear my cap but I would counter that by going with a long sleeved shirt, vest and a tie.
I was surprised when I returned and there were no cars… I thought for sure we’d be parking back where I parked when I first got there but apparently all the guests were being shuttled in and out… works for me!! We parked just the other side of the tree line – about 50 feet from the main entrance… it would be an easy load out since I could back the van right up to where I was sitting!!
We played our light mini-set and the guests were already into it… we stopped so they could eat and they were already saying how great we sounded… and despite all the load in / setup / vehicle breakdown stress everyone seemed very relaxed and ready to perform including me (90 minutes earlier I could have cared less)…
By the time they finished dinner and speeches and parent dances and other formalities I think everyone was chomping at the bit to play and we launched into our party set to which the dance floor immediately filled!! As it grew darker outside the place looked amazing inside with hanging lights everywhere. The space is a giant ‘T’… the top of the ‘T’ goes about 150 feet in each direction and there were tables end to end forming a single 75 foot table on each side with guests on both sides… we sat right in the middle of the top of the ‘T’ facing down towards the head table about 30 feet away and behind them another hundred feet was the walkway leading to the dock and the Cayuga Inlet that feeds into Cayuga Lake – one of the Fingerlakes… everything looked beautiful at night!!
FE was on fire and the audience responded in kind for well over an hour… everyone was having a great time despite the on and off rain showers… we took a short break for a few more formalities and came back to put the finishing touches on a fabulous party. When we finished there was a steady stream of people stopping to tell us how amazing we sounded and how much they had enjoyed our performance… young… old… very nice people which made for a very satisfying experience that, for the moment, made all of us forget about the long drive and issues earlier in the day… and THAT’S why I continue to struggle through the various aches and pains I put my body through to unload and load and sometime even to play… when we’re live I don’t notice any of it!!
Everyone was hanging around to help me load but on this night the van was so close I didn’t need help (now catch me when I’m going up and down the stairs at Dango’s every week and I’ll take you up on that) and I knew they were waiting to celebrate Rocco’s birthday so I sent them on their way, loaded up my gear and the various things they’d left behind (a speaker stand, a pair of sneakers and a backpack with an iPad and various other expensive items in it). The problem was, with college no longer in session, the bars all close around 12:30… I was heading for a shower and maybe to bed though Justin was rooming with me and asked me to pack some games just in case which I couldn’t pass up…
When the rest of the group decided just to party in one of the rooms Justin went to say ‘goodnight’ while I showered… I was ready for bed but Justin returned and asked if I had something quick and easy to teach… of course I did and I introduced him to Ganz Shon Clever!!
After the first game (which he won) he said he was getting it and asked if we could do it again… certainly!! I could see his wheels spinning as he toiled over each die roll… he beat me again and by a larger margin then asked if I had one more in me… of course… while the first games were fairly close he trounced me this time and at 2:00am we called it a night – hoping to be on the road around 8:00am which I made and he wasn’t far behind me… and I was home for lunch.
Here are some pictures from the Ithaca Farmers Market…
June 21 – We’re thrilled to be invited once again to perform at the Friday’s On the Lake concert series in Shepard Park on Lake George!!
It’s always special for me since this is where I grew up watching band after band, week after week every summer and dreaming about being the one on the drums so you know that I enjoy every second of this day / night!! And an absolutely beautiful night it was!!
I rolled in about 2:00 knowing that I had a solid layer of dust on everything from last week’s wedding at the Ithaca Farmers Market so I came prepared with wood cleaner, glass cleaner, micro fiber clothes, etc. The opening band tonight was Dirt Cheap and had some guys I know – Mike Howe and Frank Affinito on drums – so I offered my kit to him and wanted everything to look great. Frank arrived shortly after I started setting up and we chatted the whole time… Once I had the drums polished and tuned I threw everything else together so he could sit down and get a feel for it… in the end, the only things he had to bring were sticks and his throne as he likes to sit higher than I do (and the last time someone adjusted my throne I was weeks getting back to where I was comfortable)… I went out front as they were sound checking the drums and they sounded incredible!! I couldn’t wait to play them (just like all those summers growing up)…
With time to kill I wandered into town to my friend Dave’s store to say ‘Hi’ and get new cord for my stick necklace that had broke a couple months ago… After a quick visit I headed back to get dressed, grab a bite and catch Dirt Cheap’s set… they sounded great despite being without their keyboardist!!
As they wrapped up their set I made my way to the back of the stage to compliment them on a killer set and get settled in for my own… I knew Frank had a heavy hand at times but wasn’t prepared for how loose many of the heads had become and retuned them the best I could without having time to take everything apart and isolate heads… hopefully they sounded as good as when he sound checked earlier…
2 hours and 2 encores later it was over…
I made my way to the front of the stage to see if there was anyone I knew that I couldn’t see with the lights in my eyes (a few people had said they were coming)… I was ever so please to see a former LG classmate, a couple people from school and Dave Covey – former local radio personality and the founder of the Hedge’s Lake Fest that we used to play every 4th of July when he had a home there…
After a few minutes I started packing up… everyone was gone of course other than the sound company and myself and by 10:30 I was loaded up and on my way home – wondering how many more times I’d get to play there…
It’s rare that we get videos or even pictures at many performances because we’re busy entertaining and loving every minute of it… But on this night one of our superfans (who happens to be Sabrina’s Dad) shared some great cell phone videos – thank you Mr. G.!!
June 22 – FE returns to the Wedding Barn at Lakota Farms for (what else) another wedding…
Before I get into details just look at how amazing this venue is…
Despite an afternoon shower it turned out to be a picture perfect day as you can see… and there’s a short story behind how we came to perform at this venue once again…
When this couple contacted us about performing they had planned to have their reception at a similar (but no where near as attractive) barn-type location just outside Saratoga… we had played a reception there a few years ago and to say the owners were feuding with the neighbors would be an understatement as that day was marred by curious events and tension… for example… picture if you will a lovely pond behind a barn and a sloping lawn leading to it… a beautiful setting in which to get married… the wedding party makes their way to the area, the officiant begins to speak… and the neighbor the other side of the tree line fires up a CHAINSAW and begins falling large trees – sending them crashing to ground!!
Turns out the couple that was running the place apparently lied to the town, city, state – you name it… saying it was going to be an ecological business that would have school field trips and no more than a handful of cars… then they have large weddings DJ’s and live bands and cars everywhere!! We gave today’s couple a heads up as the future of that venue seemed highly questionable (in fact, they did get shut down) and Lakota Farms was one of the places we recommended they contact… obviously they did and here we are…
Our itinerary showed VIP guests arriving at 3:15 which means I rolled in around 12:00 of course with our opening mini-set scheduled for 6:30 just before introductions and dinner…
I rolled in, setup and finished my cleaning that started the night before in Lake George – taking several layers and years of accumulated dirt off of everything… then I tuned and ran my mics… got dressed… then got worried… still no sign of Jeff and the PA… he usually beats me to our shows… before long he and Mikey D pulled up and all was right with the world – I just had 4 hours and change to kill before we played… no problem… back to the van for a snack, some reading, a nap, more reading and lots of band chat once everyone arrived.
The day was bittersweet as this was Josh Herzog’s (bass) last performance… after 7+ years with FE and countless groups before that he was stepping down to do some traveling with his wife. We all know the grind way too well and totally understand and wish him and Sarah all the best there is for them to discover!!
The time seemed to fly by and before I knew it the mini-set was over, we were having dinner and waiting for speeches to conclude so we could get the party started… this became almost comical… we were gathered in the bar area downstairs (the last 2 pictures above) – right under the reception hall – listening to Rocco’s announcements and the speeches as we were told we were on as soon as they were done… the father of the bride’s speech wrapped up and we all started up the stairs to the stage only to hear Roc introduce a sister… back down the stairs… she’s done… part way up the stairs – nope best man… back to the bar… up we go again… maid of honor… down… up… bride and groom… down… up… parent dances… down… up… aaaaaahhhh… this time we were close… when the dances ended we took our spots and launched into party mode!!
During the evening we learned that there were guests from England, Australia, Spain – Europe and Asia were well represented as well as a large contingent from downstate, Manhattan, NJ, Connecticut, etc. And everyone proceeded to dance the entire night – the energy was incredible!! And FE was eating it up!!
An early shuttle with a handful of people left as scheduled on our short break but the majority stayed for the duration and I think we showed them a great time. At the conclusion there was a steady stream of guests stopping to compliment us but the best came from the bride and groom themselves (who incidentally had never actually heard us – they found us on one of the Wedding Wire listings)… they couldn’t stop telling us how amazing we were AND that their guests were stopping them all night – not to wish them well but to tell them how great the band was!! WOW!!! Thank you very much!! It sounds like we might be talked about when everyone returns to their native lands… 🙂 Awesome party!!!
June 28 – FE is honored to have been selected once again to entertain at the American Cancer Society’ Red, White & Blue Gala at Saratoga National!! Unlike in years past where everyone got soaked with passing showers or the weather was so bad they moved the event inside, there were no such concerns this year – it was an absolutely gorgeous day even with temps above 90.
We thought for sure this would be another off the wall celebration… even the year we were caught in a drenching rain, we kept playing and they kept dancing!! So with the sun setting and the temperature getting very comfortable we thought we’d better buckle up for a wild time… we were wrong…
It was a frustrating night to say the least but as I was packing I heard someone whistling like they wanted someone’s attention… turned out it was me and I turned to find a well dressed man above me along the railing shouting. “Hey drummer!! You killed it!! Amazing!!” That made my night and got me thinking that maybe we sounded fine out front and I started to feel a little better… then a lone couple on the dance floor (well after the band had stopped – I was half packed) hollered to me to play for them… just drums… so they could slow dance… yep – I’m the wind up drum monkey I guess… I just kept packing… 🙂
June 29 – FE makes its summer debut at Gaffney’s in Saratoga… loading in is a breeze and it’s an early start which means I can almost always park in the library about a half block away… but loading out – after the DJ is cranked so we can’t think – that’s a pain… they’ve added a gate in the end of the fence near the stage but we still need to lift everything over the stone wall… it’s not handy but with Jeff and Reid’s (Jeff’s intern) help we got everything hoisted over the wall… then I stooped to ask security if I could swing in an open spot for 5 minutes to load on my way to get the van… I was told ‘no’… I guess that spot has to remain open for any VIP’s who come to visit… fine… I drove around the block and parked on the side walk – blocking that spot… that was OK – go figure…
As for the night itself it was a decent party… a few familiar faces and for the most part everyone working there under the latest regime was very friendly. Hopefully we made some new fans who otherwise wouldn’t have seen us (I can’t envision this crowd visiting Dango’s) and sort of look forward to heading back there as part of our Saratoga double (after the Firecracker 4 race) on the 4th of July.
July 4 – FE’s first double of the season and the start of a run of 9 shows in 10 days!!
We kicked things of with our 2nd straight appearance at the Firecracker 4 race in Saratoga… last years debacle where the stage showed up 30 minutes before we were scheduled to start was a distant memory as was the company… this year our friend’s from Live Sound Inc. took care of it… when I arrived at 5:20am the stage was already in place pretty much assembled!! I was told I could move in about 20 minutes after I arrived and with that I was able to take my time and get everything in place without issue.
Despite the 7:30am start the band seemed to be cooking!! So was I… the sun hits the back of the stage the entire time we’re playing making it pretty warm – especially on this hot and humid day… when it was all done several racers commented about how having the band playing gives them a boost as they’re approaching the finish line after 4 miles… and 10 minutes after the last notes were played it was just myself and Live Sound Inc. staff – not a sign of an FE member anywhere… and when I was finished packing a couple of their guys helped me down the stairs with my heavier cases… Thank you!! 🙂
All in all it was a great start to the day and I headed home – enjoying the AC and looking forward to some lunch and a nap before heading back for the night show.
July 4 II – FE returns to Gaffney’s… I rolled up in front to unload at 4:00 and was surprised at how very quiet Saratoga seemed to be… I headed for the library to wait for a parking spot to open and there were already about 20… very strange… maybe people were coming later for the fireworks…
As the night went on we had a good sized crowd (more than the other places I visited on our break) and they just about doubled after the fireworks… we finished, I packed and was poised to roll through the crowd with the help of security when Mikey D who had stayed to help Jeff (sound company) pack and load offered to help me roll out – cutting my 4 trips to 2!! He took one and Jeff jumped on the other and I was loaded and on my way home for a much needed shower.
July 5 – FE returns to the Biergarten at Centre Street Pub… nobody on stage when we arrived tonight unlike last time (where we couldn’t setup until less than an hour before we were scheduled to start)… not too many people there period – a sight that’s becoming way too common at this venue… other than being hot and sticky the weather cooperated and it was a decent night but nothing like the craziness we remember…
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July 6 – I love playing outside but with the current heat wave showing no signs of letting go (after 3 outdoor shows in 2 days) I was more than looking forward to today’s wedding at Franklin Plaza and what a party it was!!
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But the day started with the threat of storms… as I head south on I-87 it was still sunny with some clouds but as I approached the Capitol region I could see a grey haze… as I head east towards Troy the sky was black and there was frequent lightening… as I neared the venue I could tell by the roads that a storm had recently blown through but the skies were clearing, the sun was out and the loud rumbles of thunder in the distance were all that remained… that was 5 hours before we were scheduled to play our first note…
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I took my time loading in the heat and humidity that the storm did nothing to help, setup and wiped off 3 shows of dust and dirt and dressed for the day… usually I wear a tie and a jacket or at least a vest but, even though the room felt like it was about 60, this was the perfect day to test out one of my shirts that I thought looked pretty dressy (with a faux pocket square) sans vest or jacket… it worked out very well…
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The wedding itself looked like they were filming a remake of ‘An Officer and A Gentleman’… LOTS of Navy guys in their dress whites… if you look closely at the picture below you’ll see what they planned to use to cut the cake…
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It was a great party with some very nice people – easily the tallest group of men AND women I’ve ever seen gathered in one place… I commented to Jarod the end of the night that the Navy had apparently conquered the isle of Amazonia… 🙂
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July 10 – The second part of FE’s 9-shows-in-10-days run… 5 shows – all outside – beginning with a 2 night return to Siro’s… I don’t think anyone in the band looks forward to performing here… the sound sucks and the audience is maybe 100 feet away but this was the swanky Siro’s Cup fundraiser and there was new ownership so we’d have to wait and see…
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There was no one policing the parking lot when I arrived then I realized that the track didn’t open until the next day so I parked (hoping to avoid as much broken glass as possible since we park and enter through the dumpster area) and proceeded to load in and setup…
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I arrived at 3:00 since we were supposed to sound check at 6:00 for a 7:00 start… I was done before 4:30… the sound guy (an aging burnt out hippie aptly named ‘Moon’) was sitting at the board with Toby – a sort of manager I guess – and hadn’t budged… Toby had stopped by to tell me that we’d play 7:00-8:00, then there’d be a presentation so we’d be sitting around for about an hour, then, ‘depending on how drunk everyone was we might play to 10:00’… it was about 5:30 before Moon made his way to the stage to tell me how sick he was with a bladder infection… then he sat in a chair on the stage and unpacked a couple mic cables – asking me to run this one for my bass and this one for my ‘overhead’ which is an old Shure 57 on a mic stand behind my head!! I’d forgotten that they don’t mic anything here and want the band level around 70db… normal conversation I’m told is around 80db… no wonder no one dances here… Moon pulled out some more cables but made no move to get the rest of the stage or mics in place (I’d given him a stage plot when he arrived)… 6:00 and still no mics or Rocco… so much for sound check… 6:30 – Rocco but still no stage setup… at 6:45 Moon with the help of Toby finally started distributing mic stands and cables start to appear but at their current pace a 7:00 start didn’t stand a chance… we were all in position and thought we might start by 7:15 but the woman running the event told us to hold off – she moved the presentation to 7:30 and we’d play after it was finished and that we were told to leave the stage and I headed for the van and a late supper… As I sat there eating I started hearing keyboard sounds… then guitar… great NOW we were sound checking but I hadn’t received any messages… I rushed to the back of the stage only to find some large locked doors where the entrance was!! The chef was taking a break in his car so I asked him if there was a trick to getting back in and he went to show me only to proclaim that ‘some asshole locked the doors’!! He told me to follow him and together we made our way to the front entrance of the event and just before we entered the high class crowd he turned back to me and said, “Walk in like you own the place!!”
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By the time I reached the stage they were done and I was told they couldn’t get my sample pad to run through the system… I’m shocked… I headed back to the van finished eating and waited to play…
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I made my way back in (my band mates were waiting at the door) about 7:40 – just in time to hear the end of the presentation… WHAT?!? That wasn’t an hour!! We made our way on to the stage past the exiting presentation crowd, settled in and opened with our 3 song Shining Star medley… we hadn’t made it too far when the left side of the stage lost power – there went the guitar and bass guitar (and my pad that I couldn’t use anyway)!! The rest of us kept playing while Toby wandered around the stage trying to figure out what happened… it turned out to be the GFI on the outlets they were plugged into… with power restored we finished the 1st song of the medley, started the 2nd and it went out again!!
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Rocco cut us this time and we waited while Toby and Moon ran power to other outlets… while they were there Rocco told them that none of the monitors seemed to be on… we picked up where we had left off and in less than a minute Moon must have found the switch for the monitors because the entire PA system started feeding back with a psychedelic squeal that would have been the envy of many a 60’s guitar player… it was so loud and so bad that Rocco cut us yet again and the squeal continued for well over a minute which seemed like an eternity in front of the large crowd… when it eventually subsided we picked up yet again from the same spot and were actually able to finish not only the song but the whole set but what a fiasco.
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We played for over an hour and there were actually dancers!! People were finally able to enjoy the band!! Maybe FE will get some footing here yet – despite all the sound issues… Let’s see how the second night goes with a track crowd… oh – and we all agreed – Moon included – to be in position and ready for a 5:00 sound check (6:00 start) in hopes of avoiding the calamity of this night.
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July 11 – Siro’s II… There was the threat of severe storms and many of us were really hoping they’d cancel but, when I was packing up the previous night (no way would I leave ANYTHING on that stage overnight – especially with the forecast being what it was) Toby suggest that I set up as far back as possible in case of rain… he said they’ve had several band perform while huddled against the back wall of the stage… he was essentially telling me that they never cancel…
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We learned other things from the previous night as well (which served as a gentle reminder of why we don’t enjoy playing there)… for instance, Siro’s doesn’t own the parking lot!! The lot and ALL the lots on that street are owned by NYRA and different people lease the lots and charge what they see fit (apparently to make it worthwhile for them to stand by the road waving a red flag)… the guy that runs Siro’s lot is very nice and always tries to leave 4 or 5 spots for the band – thank you!!
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The skies were already ugly when I arrived… it had been ‘sprinkling’ but not raining so I made my way back to the stage and wasn’t too far into my setup when the skies opened up (see at right)!! No thunder and lightning thankfully but heavy, unrelenting rains!! I finished setting up minus my sample pad and such… no point if they don’t know how to run their own PA and I didn’t want to risk damaging it on their piss poor power…
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The rest of the band rolled in but the stage never got setup… we were in place for a 5:00 sound check that never happened and a 6:00 start time which also never happened… Rocco asked Toby if he wanted us to start (in other words we need some mics) but was told bands never start before 6:30 (even though our contract say 6:00-10:00) so we waited around until 6:30 and watched a steady crowd of people make their way in the pouring rain to the bar in the tent some 100 feet away to the sounds of silence… Just before we started Rocco and Toby decided to play for 90 minutes then reevaluate the situation…
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During the set a couple people braved the rain to dance a little but this was a complete waste of everyone’s time… During our break Toby came by to say he was disappointed that it was more than 5 minutes – he had expected us to play 2 1/2 hours NON STOP!! AND he didn’t have a check for us (of course)… we started playing again… by now the rains had moved out and so had some of the bar patrons who I doubt noticed we were there… we couldn’t have been more than 45 minutes into the set when Rocco announced that we had a couple more tunes before calling it a night of which we played one and Rocco said his ‘goodnights’… no mics or sample pad shaved about 10-15 minutes off my tear down time which I put to good use corralling all the gear the other members had left behind in their haste to leave… a bass stand… a sax stand… a trumpet mute… We must have stopped a good 90 minutes early which didn’t break my heart… too many headaches for this to be a regular stop… too disorganized and mismanaged… who would hire a food truck and park it in front of Saratoga’s supposedly most high-end (and highest priced) restaurant?? And the sound guy and manager?? And for a place that has the reputation of being THE place to be in Saratoga, I have to say it’s a disorganized DUMP!!
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July 12 – FE returns to Dango’s on Caroline Street… It was a more typical Dango’s night crowd-wise… more like we’re used to with wall-to-wall alcoholics and no room to dance but they were into everything we did and begged us not to stop the end of the night!!
On a side note, Dango isn’t too happy that we’ve booked the Horseshoe Inn every other Friday in 2020 and wants to talk to Rocco over dinner… Dango insists that we’re his biggest draw and he can’t lose us yet the guy who does the booking seems to favor other bands over us which is fine but I think having us hold Travers weekend open only to end up sitting home one the biggest weekends of track season was the last straw for Rocco.
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July 13 – another FE double!! We’ve been invited to open for the Eagles tribute band Desert Highway at the Wilton ParkFest… When Rocco booked it he thought this would be a nice break for the band from the usual late night summer gigs… a late afternoon single set… perfect… What he didn’t anticipate was Charlie from the Horseshoe Inn pleading for one date this summer… Rocco told him that this was the only possibility but couldn’t guarantee that we’d be able to start right at 7:00 because we were doing that opening act set 5:00-6:30 and it was 20 minutes away with traffic… but Charlie was fine with the and Rocco booked it which put me in a predicament since there was no conceivable way I could pack drums and get from Wilton to the Horseshoe AND setup for 7:00… Thankfully, he reached out to the sound company for the possibility of providing backline for us (drums and guitar and bass amps)…
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Only days before the event Rocco sent me word that the headliner has agreed to let me use their kit so with that I just had to plan out the timing for my day… I’ll setup at the Horseshoe early… Wilton set is at 5:00 so I’d like to get there by 4:00 which means I’d want to be finished at the Horseshoe by 3:30 so if I hit there by 1:00… that should work. The picture at left is me polished and setup at the Horseshoe at 2:30…
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I made my way back to the Horseshoe (which was already wall-to-wall people), setup my sample pad (that I didn’t want to leave setup in the blazing sun) and was still ready to go before 7:00!! And there I sat… for probably 20 minutes or more while everyone settled in. I couldn’t have done it were it not for the willingness of Desert Highway to let a total stranger bang on their equipment… I only wish I could have stayed long enough to meet them and thank them in person (I did leave a nice hand written note)…
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From the first note to the last, the Horseshoe crowd was nuts!! They danced and smiled and sang along with anything we played (and some we didn’t)!! Two encores brought us to the noise ordinance induced curfew and it was hard to get them to leave but felt great that they had had that good a time with us. At the end of the night the venue took dinner orders from whoever was left from the band… Charlie always feeds us and takes care of us – he’s a rare breed as owners go – thank you!! We can’t wait to come back next summer!!
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July 19 – FE is back to just weekends for the rest of the summer but the next 2 days promise temps near 100 and excessive humidity!! Of course we’re outside – first in the sauna that is Dango’s tent then in the middle of Pearl Street for another Albany Empire Block Party… not sure which will be worse – the tent or the blacktop…
I was dripping wet just from loading in down and up the stairs… The picture at right was shortly after dousing myself with a bottle of cold water which helped for a little while… it was so bad that I broke my hard fast rule of never wearing shorts on a professional gig and performed with my legs exposed for the first time in my 40+ year career… I still soaked through my clothes and my eyes burned from sweat all night long – even with my fan directly behind me… Rocco convinced the owner to purchase a couple large fans for the tent if he wanted to keep any type of crowd… they didn’t help us but the audience seemed to hang in there… I was thankful to get everything back in the van without passing out before melting into the AC for the ride home… one down…
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July 20 – I made my way around the Pearl Street street closures from construction and the block party and landed a spot right behind the stage (as usual when your 3 hours ahead of sound check)… I rolled my gear to the stage entrance out of the way of the Aces crew who were still assembling the sound gear on the stage… they were oddly relieved to see me… seems they thought another group was playing who they’ve deemed ‘a giant pain in the ass’ but felt that FE was pretty chill and easy to work with… it wasn’t long before they’d cleared a hole for me and told me to cheat up a little in hopes of prolonging the time before the sun would be beating down on my back… thanks for thinking of me guys – worked out perfectly!!
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Joe was infor Justin and Tim Keenan from Cryin’ Out Loud was on bass for Jarod… Tim did a great job as always… I think Josh is in for Justin next week …
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The picture at left is what was left of me after getting everything up the stairs to the stage and setting up… the kit sounded amazing through Ace’s system which made me smile… I think I sweat off another 2 or 3 pounds tearing down… I was ‘melting’ all over everything…
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The block party itself was obviously under-attended – no doubt because of the horrible heat and humidity – but those in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves… I saw a couple guys from the drumline and a couple former corps members from back in the early 90’s… They said we were amazing and I thought we were playing well…
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July 26 – Another night at Dango’s… found a parking spot pretty quick, lugged everything down and up the stairs and setup well ahead of time… and the crowd was crazy as usual… But the big news on this night had nothing to do with FE or Dango’s…
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I read online that the Accents were playing at Gaffney’s starting at 8:00… perfect!! I’d be setup and ready and (since we never sound check) I could go over and take in most of the set… I stopped over about 7:40 when I made my water and soda run (Dango’s girls working the bar regularly choose to ignore me) but there was no sign of anyone which seemed odd… the patio was crowded so maybe I was missing them… I went back over shortly after 8:00 and ran into Frank (Accent’s guitar player) who told an interesting story… apparently their drummer Bobby and Joe (keyboards and band leader) had setup but while other guys were unloading the owner came out and began screaming at them for parking in front of the place to unload!! Frank told him they were just dropping gear then they’d go hunt for a parking spot but the owner laid into them again then went back inside only to come out a few minutes later and do it all over again… Joe was present this time and when the owner told them if they didn’t like it they could leave Joe replied, “You know what?? I think we’ll leave.” WOW!!!! Who in their right mind would do that to one of the top bands in the area?!? It didn’t take long for that word to spread around Saratoga… and that on top of a week that saw Facebook filled with stories of this same owner cancelling bands at the last minute or cutting them off so the DJ could start… throw in a staggering number of bounced checks and this place will be lucky to make it to September!! Incredible… We don’t have any dates there the rest of the year…
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July 27 – FE played one of the most unique weddings ever…
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All I knew going in was it was someone’s home in Clifton Park and during the week the bride had reached out to Rocco to encourage everyone to wear shorts and Hawaiian shirts… obviously I was game…
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I arrived to find a small house in a beautiful neighborhood with a giant RV parked across the front… streamers and other decorations and a number of white chairs – presumably for the ceremony… I was greeted by a couple of bridesmaids and the bride’s father who led me to the back yard which had just been cleared of brush… a small ‘dance floor’ had recently been built with 2×4’s and plywood… beyond that was a medium sized tent and some grass and beyond that lie a large rug next to a small stone patio which I gladly claimed since it would be the only solid and reasonably level spot available for me to setup…
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Everyone I met was extremely nice… someone named ‘John’ had prepared the bar for the bartenders then stopped over to chat… turned out he was a drummer with a kit that would be the envy of Neil Peart!! He was showing me pictures when the bride’s mother shouted for him – making sure the bar was ready… he told her everything was in place and the beer was perfect… then he turned to me and asked if I wanted a ‘perfect beer’… 🙂 I told him he should look through the sets and pick some tunes to play but he balked at the idea… I thought I’d be able to convince him later but he managed to stay well hidden someplace…
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There was even several students from Julliard who performed during the ceremony and early on in the reception and they were all absolutely incredible – right down to the youngest who might have been 12… amazing!!
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They brought in a Bar-B-Q food truck and the food was off the chain and seemed to be endless!!
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One of the things I enjoyed most was that, unlike most other weddings, this one didn’t get hung up on the serving of the meal but rather was geared toward the party… to that end we actually got to perform to full sets.
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As the day went on we learned that the bride and groom lived in the massive RV (that served as the backdrop for the ceremony) and traveled the country though it was registered in Oregon… they were what I termed as ‘modern day hippies’…
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Towards the end of the party the bride took the mic and explained that, when they were clearing the tall grass and brush from the area for the party, they had found about 75 Heineken bottle caps!! It seems her Grandfather would routinely relax on the back deck by opening a cold one and flicking the cap off into the brush… during the weeks leading up to today they went through another 50 bottles (just for the additional caps)… when she finished relating the story she directed everyone to a display they had made comprised of all the caps they had collected and invited the family to take one of the rusted ones that her Grandfather had tossed and honored guests to take one of the new ones as a memento of the day and her dear departed Grandfather… very cool.
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August 2 – Once again – if it’s Friday, this must be Dango’s…
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August 3 – FE makes its return to Siro’s… What would it be like tonight?? There never seems to be a huge crowd here for a place that everyone says is ‘the place to go’… and no one ever seems to pays attention to the band so why bother having them… then there’s neighbors and noise ordinances which limit the band’s volume to the same decibel level as normal conversation… and one mic on the drums… everybody dance!! They can’t figure out how to get my sampler through the system so I don’t even bring that or my mics making for a slightly easier tear down…
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And the day is off to a great start… no parking spots for the band!! The guy running the lot says he tries to keep some open back there… by the dumpsters, garbage and broken glass… but today they were all full so I unloaded and went out front to park and the guys hits me for $20 (last time Mike got the ‘band discount’ and parked for $10)… fine. I texted the rest of the band to let them know in case spots didn’t open back there by the time they arrived… A little while later Rocco texted everyone… he contacted the owner who said he’d cover if anyone else got charged which was a bit of a surprise – thank you.
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Our contract says we start at 6:00 but they always tell us we have to wait until after the last race… after I setup I was told that it might be 7:00 or 8:00 before we started because the Whitney was the 7th race which was being televised so it couldn’t go off until 7:00 and there were 2 more races after that… great… I hadn’t been out front since setting up but it started sounding busy and around 6:00 I looked out to discover a fairly good-sized crowd already assembled… wow!! Maybe ‘Moon’ (Siro’s sound guy) should put some mics up… About 6:20 Gordy (manager?) tells us we should plan on starting at 6:45… we text Rocco who had to run back home for equipment he’d forgotten… then we learned that they had all agreed that we would play one long set from 7:00-9:00.
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We launched into our set and a few people started dancing… then a few more… before long (I have to believe to everyone’s surprise) we had a full blown FE party going!! And it continued for the entire night!! After 2 hours of non-stop playing I think we were all still in shock… As I was packing up I learned that they had asked us to keep going but Rocco politely declined as we were all drenched in sweat and pretty worn out… but it was a nice change to be asked (usually by 9:00 the place is empty)… but not tonight!!
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August 9 – FE makes its annual appearance at the Festa at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Rotterdam… the people couldn’t be nicer and we thought. for the first time in recent memory, the weather was going to be beautiful – nothing in the forecast other than perhaps some 50 degree temps by he time we finished.
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When I rolled in around 3:00 the wind was blowing pretty steady with some strong gusts thrown in but I thought that would certainly calm down as night approached which it did for the most part…
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We wrapped up our second set and took 15 minutes to grab a drink and some more of the amazing food and I thought I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye… maybe it was a camera… I checked the radar on my phone and sure enough a small storm was making a bee line for us… I estimated 10-20 minutes… I shared it with the guys and Rocco went to the organizers who immediately shut the event down to give people time to get to their vehicles… I barely got the electronics cased when the rain started… then it started blowing into the stage… within a few minutes the heavier rains hit and there were some many holes in the canvas top of the stage there was really no place to hide… by then everyone else was packed up and staring at me – waiting to go eat so I sent them on their way… there’s an order and process to packing my kit so there’s nothing they could really do to help me…
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I finished packing – managing to keep the drums dry – but the hardware and my rug were soaked… I wiped the hardware as I packed it and went to get the van but found the access lane blocked by a police cruiser so I had to cart everything across the parking lot but by now the rain had stopped thankfully… we can’t seem to catch a break with the weather here…
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August 10 – another wedding at a private residence – this time in East Berne… you never know what to expect at these… the running joke among musicians is that you’re told they have a stage and plenty of power and arrive to find a sheet of plywood in the grass and an extension cord run from the house… And Rocco’s instructions telling us to keep right after we leave the highway and hit the dirt road made me wonder…
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But today I arrived to find an elderly couple clearing brush and weeds who pointed me up a road where I could see a house not too far in… they texted Mike (who turned out to be the groom’s father) then told me to go to the small house and knock on the door but on the way I ran into a bridesmaid who happily showed me around… and it was impressive!! Big back yard right on a small lake… a large gazebo with plenty of room for FE… about the only hard part would be dragging everything from the crush stone driveway to the gazebo because the grass was wet and soft which prevented us from getting vehicles any closer…
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As I approached the stage someone said I might have to work around the dog… this is ‘Buck’… he barely moved as I approached, lifted his head up when I extended my hand to see if he was friendly…
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Yep – he’s friendly… 🙂
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I was in love and knew Jeff (sound guy) would go bananas but we’d have to check Sabrina’s car at the end of the night if Buck came up missing… I immediately texted her these pictures…
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Buck wandered around – frequently returning to the stage to check our progress… at one point Mikey D was crouched down to plug something in and Buck came over, sniffed the case, then squeezed in between Mike and his project… I guess it was time for more belly rubs…
There were probably about 160 guests total and the setting was absolutely perfect…
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This was our home for the evening…
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I was anticipating a chilly night which meant the cap was in service…
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Mike (groom’s father) and his wife have been building this house for about 2 1/2 years… all the stone came right off the property and they placed it all themselves (Mike has a business and lots of heavy equipment)… there’s a large cement patio and big fireplace off screen to the left… they hope to move in next year… amazing place!!
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August 16 – yep… Dango’s… Tonight I broke out a new Templar shirt but any drum corps people will tell you it’s from the Crossmen…
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August 17 – FE’s first wedding at the Lodge at Saratoga Casino…
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Up until I got the actual address the day prior I thought we were playing in some ballroom / conference room in the big hotel they built on to the Racino a couple years ago… This venue however is at the end of Nelson Avenue (coming from the track you’d drive right by the Racino entrance to find it)… it looks like it’s been around since the early days of the track but at some point they’ve added a huge tent on the ‘front lawn’ with some kind of floor that resembles planking but is vinyl and rock solid… and sides that will totally enclose which came in handy on this day / night…
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The weather forecast was for a picture-perfect summer day… right up until that morning when the ‘threat’ of an afternoon storm was added…
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When I rolled in about 1:00 it was a gorgeous day though a little warm and Jeff (sound guy) and I were thrilled to see where we’d be playing… easy to roll everything in and plenty of room and the planner was extremely nice and equally pleased that we would arrive that early…
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As we were setting up I started watching the radar on my phone and getting alerts… uh-oh… the ceremony was supposed to take place on the lawn next to the tent… the alternative plan was to move everything inside the tent but they’d wait to make that call…
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We finished setting up and the rest of the band arrived and settled in… Justin and I headed back to our vehicles to relax and wait for our start time… guests began to arrive and the radar started looking more ominous so it all came down to timing…
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At 4:00 we could hear the ceremony beginning on the lawn… we could also see the storm approaching… this was going to be close… as the ceremony completed the wind started kicking up, it became dark and lighting and thunder began to become more frequent… They made it!! Just in time and with that the guests moved into the lodge itself for cocktail hour and shelter from the violent storm that would blow through for the next 20-30 minutes. Some of the band rode out the storm in the tent and said that, at its peak, the flaps fluttered a little but the tent was solid. The lodge and surrounding area were spared anything more than leaf clutter and branches but other parts of Saratoga suffered significant damage… we were lucky today.
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August 20 – a rare mid-week corporate gig at Saratoga National for the Women’s Association of Funeral Directors… of course we’d be playing a lot of Grateful Dead and Dead Kennedys… NOT!! We were warned going in that, due to the clientele, we’d need to play very quietly… really?!? Then why book an 8 piece party band with horns?!? This should be interesting…
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I always pack about a dozen ties – hoping to match the color scheme whenever possible… it was easy for this one (picture at right)…
While we were awaiting our appointed time a young woman approached the band and introduced herself as ‘I’m so-and-so… I’m in charge here.’ Nice.
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As soon as we did start playing there were complaints of our being too loud… the horns and drums were both acoustic – no mics turned on at all… and I was using the smallest stick I owned AND playing without ear filters so I could really stay on top of my volume… I was barely touching the drums… and even with that there were complaints… but wait… another ‘faction’ has appeared and these ladies and gentlemen want to party!! We tried to find a middle ground as to satisfy both sides but I think the complainers simply moved to the other room or out on the terrace…
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When we returned for our final set about 10:15 we opened it up and the party people kicked it up another notch!! Everyone was getting into it!! And after the 2nd song miss ‘I’m in charge here’ walks onto the dance floor and gruffly announces that the bus is leaving in 5 minutes… we played one final song and watched as people danced until the very last seconds before running to catch the bus… and with that our night ended a full 30 minutes early. She must have been in charge of making sure no one enjoyed themselves at HER party…
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August 23 – if it’s Travers weekend, this must be (where else??) Dango’s… our final night of 2019…
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It was actually comfortable for setting up but that meant cooler temps as the night went on and I was prepared for it (what else is new)…
Of course I had hours to kill before we played so I made my lap around the block, snagged a water and soda from the pizza joint across the street because the majority of Dango bimbos tending bar won’t make eye contact with me let alone serve me… that’s fine – I don’t need their $10 cup of ice with a little Coke run over it… I preset my stage, ate a lite dinner and ventured out to see who was playing around the block… I was pleased to find Crying Out Loud at Gaffney’s and stood outside enjoying them for about 30 minutes…
Back to Dango’s… the night itself was another typical Dango’s show with wall-to-wall people but it’s always a different crowd on Travers weekend…
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Before we ever started one girl helped herself to a wireless mic and started singing with the break music… Jeff had to wrestle that away from her… Of course she would return about the middle of the first set – this time taking Mikey D’s mic… as he and Rocco and security started pursuing her through the crowd Mike was screaming at her ‘This isn’t f#$king karaoke!!!’… they eventually cornered her and of course she denied having it after stuffing it under her shirt but her friends confirmed that it was now down her pants!! Lovely… fortunately on this night there was a female security guard on staff (it’s usually all guys) and she took her into the bathroom and retrieved the mic which they had cleaned but no one wanted to touch understandably… I wouldn’t want to put my lips anywhere near it after that trip…
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Otherwise the night went on as usual…
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August 24 – FE’s first visit to the Diamond Mills Hotel in Saugerties…
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What a beautiful venue… easy load in… less than a couple miles off the thruway which I really like (I’m getting tired of back roads and dodging deer in the middle of the night every week)… The wedding coordinator Bethany was a sweetie… we moved in and setup and even helped her with the lighting of candles that the kids on staff apparently missed… While we finished putting everything together and Rocco put the final programming touches on his uplighting she asked if we’d heard of Silver Arrow band and went on to express her extreme displeasure with them… ‘most times no one MC’s’… ‘they don’t even know the bride and groom’s names’… ‘don’t seem to know the songs they’re playing’… we explained how they’re not really a ‘band’ – they’re more of a corporate entity that obviously figures there is limited return business at risk (brides or grooms getting married a second time) so they have no concerns about screwing happy couples on their special day… we had a musician we know who occasionally takes Silver Arrow gigs tell us that it goes bad a lot… on one occasion the bride’s father walked up, stood in front of the band while they were playing, stopped them mid-song and threw them out saying that he didn’t hire any of the people he was seeing!! WOW!!
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No such issues on this night… but we were close… it seems that a jazz trio or quartet was requested for the cocktail hour and Rocco missed that in the initial email and only learned of the request a few days prior… at the last minute he was able to pull something together which turned out to be a sort of all-star trio of local musicians with a trumpeter whose name I sadly can’t remember, pianist / drummer extraordinaire Cliff Brucker (and his old Roland MK-II sequencer) and premiere saxophonist Leo Russo (at left) who I haven’t seen since playing with him over 40 years ago – back in my first band (the Dixieland band)!! We had a bit of a reunion – so great to see him… and he sounded just as great as he did back then!! Amazing!!! Of course I had to share the picture with Woody Strobeck – the leader of the Dixie band back then… he responded. “Who’s that with you?? He looks really old!!” These guys will never change… 🙂
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The venue was a little slow getting meals out but it’s only a 6 or 7 years old and I think they’ll figure it out in time…
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The party was great of course… the people couldn’t have been nicer… the dance floor was packed from start to finish and I lost count of how many times there was a circle around the bride and groom… once as the GROOM had a mic and was singing Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ with us!! Fun group!!
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At the end of the night no one wanted to leave but the shuttles were arriving… we were done and I had already packed my case and sticks and unplugged the mics when Rocco came back and we did and encore!! I was pretty much acoustic by then (only the kick was still plugged in) and Jeff and Jay were outside getting their cars and were shocked upon returning… When it was all done the bride and some family remained on the dance floor talking to us until we were almost packed.
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Here are some more pictures of this incredible place…
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As I made the hour and 40 minute drive home I didn’t feel right… exhausted… nothing tasted right… I thought maybe I was just that tired but by the next morning I knew it was something else… I had picked up some kind of bug… my joints and muscles were killing me… my throat was like I’d swallowed glass… even my eyeballs were throbbing… maybe it was just a bad summer cold with some sinus stuff thrown in… it was different for me and after crashing Sunday I ended up missing work Monday as well… cold meds do your stuff please!!
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September 1 – after FE’s first Friday and Saturday off since back in April or May we set out for a Sunday wedding at a new venue in Williamstown, MA called Bloom Meadows… we knew going in there were noise ordinances and sound restrictions so we weren’t sure what kind of party to expect with reduced volume… I was still feeling rotten but most of the body aches were gone leaving behind what felt more like a regular head cold and sinus pressure… day 8 of this crud!! I didn’t realize it at the time but last Saturday we were all sitting around the banquet table and I had to leave after about 10 minutes because I thought the chairs were killing my back… I couldn’t get comfortable the rest of the night and didn’t realize until a couple days later that that was when whatever bug this is started taking me down… I should have known something was wrong when I was loading out that night… all of a sudden the carpet that I rolled in on felt like I was wheeling everything through sand and I struggled to get through it… cold meds and Ibuprofen would get me through tonight though…
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I arrived to find a very new construction but well laid out… I eventually found Sara – one of the owners – who showed me the side door right next to where we setup… perfect… a couple spots for storing empty cases… excellent… then she reminded me of the sound ordinances and that they don’t allow sub-woofers… wait – WHAT?!? This should be interesting… Then I met the other owner (sorry – I forgot his name) who introduced himself as the ‘Fun Police’… turns out they’re a husband and wife… very young and very nice and seem to know just what they’re after with this venue… Rocco arrived a few minutes later and told them he would be bringing in a single sub in and they should trust him… I could tell from all the pacing they were doing before we played that they were still concerned…
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The ceremony lasted 5-10 minutes on the lawn behind the venue facing the mountains… a jazz quartet played on the patio for cocktail hour… then came the first of two mini sets… from the first note the dance floor was packed!! I was using lighter sticks and no ear filters to ensure I kept my volume in check… didn’t matter what we played – everybody danced!!
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Then we paused for the couple’s first dance… in the middle they invited everyone to join them then we launched into mini-set two and, once again, everyone continued to dance – especially the adorable flower girl!! We were about to stop for dinner when Rocco remembered that while they were lining up for the ceremony the flower girl had asked for Shake It Off by Taylor Swift… he announced the special request and she stole everyone’s heart… I think everyone had a turn dancing with her… absolutely precious!! And with that our night was off to a roaring start… AND the owners minds were put at ease as they were checking decibel levels up by the road and it was barely registering… one owner was so comfortable that he actually went home mid-way through the night. No ‘Fun Police’ needed tonight I guess…
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As the night went on, as usually happens, we learned all kinds of interesting tidbits of information…
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The groom is a hot shot chef out of Boston and his crew was doing the cooking (the guys said it was some of the best food they’ve ever had)…
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The bride and groom had wanted a popular touring Ska band for the reception but since they weren’t available they remembered us from a wedding back in 2016 at The Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico, NY (not too far over the Tappen Zee) – an amazing venue and part of the former Rockefeller estate. Judging from the audience response during and after the reception I have to think they were pleased with their choice.
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Towards the end of the night the groom asked if he could sit in on drums… sure – why not?? The groom makes his way past me and I always kid with fill-ins ‘as long as you’re right-handed you’ll be fine’… he was left handed and from the thrashing and banging he did on my low toms and china during the 3 Non Blonds BALLAD I doubt he’d ever held a stick before… they stopped mid-song as it had disintegrated into drums falling down a flight of stairs… the groom got up and as I was sitting back down various members were checking my heads and cymbals for damage… great… I checked as I was packing and didn’t catch anything obvious… I’ll have a closer look when I setup the next gig.
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Otherwise the party and the venue were simply amazing!! And FE broke out a bunch of the new material – a couple for the very first time – and they were all very well received and the band walked out feeling pretty good about it all. The owners took a ton of cards – wanting to keep us on a short list of only a couple bands they know they can trust with the sound issues…
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Here are some pictures…
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September 7 – road trip!!! FE’s hitting the road to Rochester!! And I’m still sick as a dog… the odd symptoms and joint pain is gone but the head cold and drippy nose is unrelenting…
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As I hit the road I wondered if anyone else had read the itinerary to figure out the location of the venue we were playing at… I was about an hour from Rochester when there was a flood of emails… I hit a rest area for a bathroom break, unpack my lunch and read the messages… Rocco says that we should use the freight elevator and sent a picture of the hotel… only the picture was of the Hyatt…
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I arrived at the Strathallan and stopped at the front desk to determine how best to move gear and was informed that they don’t have a freight elevator and I should use the regular ones… Rocco arrived shortly after me and I explained the situation and he decided that maybe he’d better blast out an email so everyone gets to the right place… my OLDometer (at right) is getting ready to trip… 🙂
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The ballroom was perched on the top of the building offering a sweeping 180 degree view of the surrounding city…
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The room itself was a little cramped… there was barely an isle to walk through between tables let alone roll gear… and that was with no one in the room… but it was a beautiful setup nonetheless…
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I setup and sound checked then headed for the Hyatt’s garage to park… no problem except I couldn’t find my way to the right elevators that lead to the lobby… eventually I followed another group and made my way to the desk, checked in, relaxed for a few minutes, got dressed and set out to return to the Strathallan… I hit the parking garage – positive I was on the right level – but could not find the van… where are my keys… got ’em… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… OK – it’s here… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… that was louder so I’m getting closer… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… nope – quieter… wrong way… double back… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… louder… keep going… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… quieter… DAMN!! Lock button… ‘BEEP’… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… Lock button… ‘BEEP’… this was pathetic but I eventually found it BUT I did learn what to look for when I returned after the gig and would park near the glass doors with the elevators…
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The wedding couldn’t have gone better… by the time I was packed everyone else had set out to discover the Rochester nightlife while I made my way with all my gear past airline pilots checking in for the night… Nick would be my bunk mate for the night and he started texting me that I needed to authorize him to get a key to the room so I returned to the hotel, told them about Nick and headed to my executive suite on the 20th floor, grabbed a shower and went to bed.
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At 6:00am I thought I heard the alarm clock going off and quickly rolled over and started pressing buttons and twisting knobs to try to make it stop so as not to wake up Nick… it finally stopped and I tried to go back to sleep but gave up by 6:30, packed, dressed, checked out and hit the road about 7:00 fully intent on hitting one of the rest areas with a Dunkin once I hit the thruway but guess what… none of the east bound areas has a Dunkin… NONE!!! By the time I figured this out I was 2 hours into the return trip and settled for a Pop Tart and a Pepsi (breakfast of ex-champions)…
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I missed my late night game session with Justin because he had his own room but otherwise it was a great weekend and the band was killing it!! Oh – and that alarm that went off?? That was Nick’s phone for whatever reason… Now if I could only shake this cold…
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September 13 – FE returns to Frog Alley Brewing in Schenectady… the construction still has everything torn up or blocked off and I ended up parking around the corner up the street and rolling all my gear from there… it was a really nice day so I had a feeling we might be outside and I was right… I wish I’d been wrong… the wind was blowing and the sun was hidden behind buildings the entire time and I could feel the temperature already dropping… I was prepared for the chilly temps but not the wind… I thought it would die down after sunset but it got worse… and my nose was running like water… the constant sniffing from lack of downtime to blow my nose left me with a huge sinus headache… on break I just sat behind the stage and blew my nose – hoping it might let up… it didn’t…
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By the end of the night I was exhausted and my head was throbbing… and the wind picked up to where it felt like I was trying to pack on the open bow of a ship at sea… stuff blowing everywhere… I packed and pulled the van up front, loaded and headed home for some much needed sleep since we had a late start the next day…
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September 14 – a late start wedding in Nassau… up until a few weeks ago we didn’t know where or what the venue would be… turned out to be Camp Schodack – a youth camp in the woods just outside Albany (Nassau)… I just hoped we were inside and not in a tent or pavilion or anything open air after last night… I wasn’t feeling great to start but last nights outdoor show stuck a fork in me… I was done!! Yet here I was doing it all over again… We ended up being in the recreation hall… whew!! But finding it was its own adventure…
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As I drove up on the camp I saw signs for visitor parking… pulled in but saw no activity or anything that looked like a reception… I went back on the main road and drove past an opening in the tree line that had to be an entrance… I turned around and made my way through the opening and could see car tracks over the basketball courts so I followed them and soon saw a sign for the office… surely they would know where to go but there was no one around so I continued and stumbled on the rec hall… I went in and verified that I was in the right place, found our staging area and went about my normal routine…
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It was already getting cooler and of course my nose would not stop running AGAIN… the ceremony wasn’t until 7:00 out in a separate field… by the time they finished it was pitch black out but you could see everyone returning from the field with candles and flashlights that were handed out as part of the ceremony… we didn’t play a note until almost 8:00!! A mini-set… the first dance… an abbreviated dance set before dinner and everyone looked like they were ready for a party… very cool!! But the room was getting warm!!
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We stopped for dinner provided by the people from Saratoga Race Track with a giant wood-fired oven making pizza and chicken and more… the boys said it was incredible… then came the speeches and parent dances then it was party time until 1:00am!! Two long sets – more like a club gig – and they partied to the very end!! Very nice group of people and extremely complimentary when we were all finished – even well after… as I was loading the van the father of the bride drove by on a golf cart and gave me yet another round of applause…
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September 28 – after almost 5 months of solid playing FE finally had last weekend off… how do we start our fall run?? Another wedding at another summer camp!!
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Today FE heads to the Forrest Lake Camp between Warrensburg and Chestertown… I’ve never been to the camp but when I was all of 16 my girlfriend’s family invited me to join them for a weekend at a cabin on Kelm Lake just off the same road (there’s actually a Little Kelm and a Big Kelm)… these were memories that have stuck with me my entire life but I wasn’t sure what to expect today… turned out to be an incredible experience…
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As in Schodack, the camp staff were some of the nicest people you’ll even encounter… Brett – the Camp Director (direct from London) joked with us the entire time (he was going to leave around 9:00 but had such a great time he was still there the end of the night)… he proudly told us of this new dining hall that was only about 3 years old that was built after a previous wedding commented how much they liked the spongy dance floor… turned out the building which was raised a good 5-6 feet at that end was on the verge of collapsing!! All the beams supporting it underneath had fallen so there wasn’t much holding the floor up. This new hall was absolutely beautiful… solar powered… big, wooden, almost garage-type doors separated the boy’s side from the girl’s and disappeared into the ceiling with little encouragement… and it wasn’t big and boomy at all as Brett pointed out the slats in the ceiling behind which was hidden a good deal of acoustic cloth… WOW!!! Someone did some homework when they put this together… soon the chef came out… he and Brett asked if I’d heard of Silver Arrow Band… Brett said they were like the 4 Tops since you never knew which 4 Tops you were going to get… he said he hasn’t seen the same band there twice and was happy that he recognized me from the videos online… chef was excited to see a live band as he was sick of DJ’s and asked how many members we had… when I told him 8 – female fronted and 3 horns he couldn’t wait to hear us and I couldn’t wait to play!!
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Of course I was in, cleaned and ready to go a full 4 hours before we were scheduled to play our first note…
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We were watching the weather… we were safe inside but the ceremony was a 12 minute hike up the mountain and the forecast was questionable but luck was on their side today… about 10 minutes after a parade of guests began emerging from the woods a quick shower blew through – so little rain I’m not sure anyone noticed – and that was the extent of the weather for the day and night… and it remained pleasant into the evening (I was sure we’d be feeling temps in the 50’s or even 40’s as the night went on) making for a perfect night.
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Here are some early pics of the hall… it became even more impressive at night with all the candles and hardwood…
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(…please ignore Nick setting up in this attempt to get the room from behind the kit… )
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While I pack all my own food for these gigs I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that it was unanimous among the FE members that this was the best food they’d had at any wedding!! Several of us made a point of finding Brett and later the chef and letting them know how amazing everything was!!
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As for the party itself, it couldn’t have gone better!! I think the week off really had the band fired up to play and the predominantly younger crowed (though there was a good sized older contingent) were ready to party from the first note!! So much so that we were asked to cut our mini-set short because no one would sit down… nice problem to have and an indication of what was to come… after the speeches and parent dances it was time to party and party they did… the dance floor was packed from the first notes of ‘Valerie’ sung by one of the bridesmaids until the special DJ request of ‘Wagon Wheel’ by Big Medicine that closed the night!! Great party!! Great people!! Great venue and staff and great food!! We couldn’t have asked for a better event!!
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September 29 – FE makes its debut at the Elms Family Farm Days… I surprised at how many people knew about this place when we started promoting it… it turned out to be a chilly, breezy day but by mid-afternoon it was perfect… if you were in the sun… unfortunately, the sun was behind the stage from the moment I arrived at 9:00am until I loaded out about 4:45pm… making for a cold stage but once we were playing it wasn’t too bad… then again, I wore a hat a jacket the entire day too… But it was a great time and there were tons of families which was impressive… I even saw some familiar faces from school which was a nice surprise… A fun day!! I hope we get asked back again!!
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October 6 – the first of two weddings this weekend…
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The first was FE’s first at the Adelphi wedding TENT in Saratoga… no place to park… construction all around which meant construction fencing – sometimes in the most useless of places (like where everyone – caterer, florist, band, videographers, photographers, not to mention guests, etc.) are trying to enter… the ‘floor’ of the tent (whatever you want to call whatever they laid all weather carpet over) was uneven and spongy in spots and that fence extended some 20-30 feet along the back of the tent… I had just moved one load in when a parking space opened right at the end of the fence… I’M TAKING IT!! Every spot in that lot was marked ‘reserved’ but it never fails that I follow the rules and end up a mile away then someone in, parks by the door and stays there all night… tonight was my turn unless someone makes me move… that way I can make as fast an exit as possible, get home, shower and get some sleep before setting off for Philly bright and early… worked out just fine. The tent was another story…
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Mid-afternoon and it was already getting cold… they were roasting chickens over an open fire just outside the tent and apparently couldn’t understand why the tent was full of smoke…
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I finished setting up, found a place to change in the bowels of the Adelphi Hotel itself and tried to stay warm until it was time to play…
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They fed the vendors early (I bring my own and am always there well ahead of time so neither mattered to me) but the guys that did come early to eat said the burger and fries were mediocre at best… this was shaping up to be a piss-poor experience all around…
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As it got closer to play time we made our way back to the now freezing tent… just before the guests started to enter someone came through and turned on the various heaters positioned around the outside of the tent which proceeded to blow cold air for the next hour or so… more great planning there…
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I was layered up and ready to go despite the cold… shirt and tie, double-breasted vest AND a suit jacket… Jarod often remarks that he doesn’t know how I can play like I do in a dress jacket… I can do it because I have to but mostly because of the way I’ve arranged my kit… very compact so I don’t have to reach or over-extend to get to anything… the Gibralter rack puts everything within easy reach and it’s the same night after night… a couple drummers have sat in and commented on how easy the kit plays (thank you)… but I should have brought my black WOOL Kangool cap as I had a runny nose all night (still trying to shake whatever that was from 5 or 6 weeks ago) and only hoped I could get through the Philly gig before another head cold hit me full force…
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As for the party itself… It looked like it would turn into a party judging by the dancing and reactions to the mini-set prior to introductions but the set was cut short so they could get people seated for the buffet style dinner which still took waaaay longer to get through than it should have… by the time we got to play again the energy level of the guests was all but gone (as were some of the guests) – in no small part due to the cold and dampness that didn’t want to go away… it was still a decent party – everyone was happy – but not the off-the-wall kind we’ve grown used to…
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The end of the night they made pizza in a large wood-fired oven… Justin had a piece while we were packing up… he thought it was just OK but still the best thing he’d tasted all night… and we all smelled like we’d been hanging around a campfire for a couple days… I can only imagine what the almighty historical Adelphi charges for a private event but I can’t see us doing a ton more there as I don’t imagine it will be a go-to venue once word gets around…
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October 7 – ROAD TRIP!!! As usual, I’ve been both looking forward to and dreading this one as I’m not a fan of city driving but, just like drumming in a suit, I do it because I have to…
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We’re playing at the Liberty View at Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia – right across from the Liberty Bell!!!
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This would be my first trip here and I wasn’t sure what to expect in the way of traffic or best routes… in the weeks prior I’d been scouting routes and making sure my EZ-Pass (birthday present from my girls) would work and it worked everywhere. When Rocco finally got us details I started using Google to drive around the block and look for parking and routes and times to get from the venue to the hotel we were staying at just over the Ben Franklin bridge in New Jersey which turned out to be about 10 minutes away… perfect. The address they gave in their instructions for the venue seemed off – actually around the corner going away from the venue… with a little more Google virtual driving I found the brown door for load-in and noted the address in case others wanted to use it but I’d be the first to arrive so I’d be sure to tell them if it didn’t work… worked great!! Put me right at the door!!
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At the wedding last night Rocco was telling us that the Philly coordinator kept calling him to see if we were happy with everything or needed anything and saying how excited and grateful they were that we were coming to play in their city… not sure they thought we were… we’re a bunch of schmucks from upstate NY playing covers… but thanks…
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I arrived, made my way to the door while calling the number given to me… before long the door opened and another planner gave me my loading pass for the van window, took me to the elevator, gave me the code and instructions, brought me up to see the room and the stage and even provided instructions for parking when I was unloaded… ‘enter the garage from this side (6th Street) and I’ll be able to take the elevator right into the visitor center’… This is going to be a piece of cake!!
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I made my way around the block (all one way streets) and back to the parking garage entrance just down the block from where I loaded in as instructed… hmmm… first level has cones blocking access… must be full… down another level, up the elevator and into the visitor center and, after sneaking under the black ropes blocking access to the upstairs, back to the room to setup. It wasn’t long before Mike and Jeff rolled in (and locked themselves out once)…
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We noticed that any cases with any sort of cloth or foam smelled like campfire from the Adelphi wedding… we joked about that but a short time later we smelled something that made us think something was really burning… we couldn’t locate it but it looked like there was some smoke in the room… we got one of the planner and they could smell it too… just then their radio went off – there was a fire downstairs!! We joked, “Is Rocco here?” Turned out he was… and it was him… sort of… someone had dropped a cigarette butt into a grate that had dry leaves in it that’s somehow connected to the building… Rocco saw the small fire and poured a bottle of water on it to put it out and the smoke it generated got into the ventilation system… a short time later the alarms went off, the fire department came and we had to evacuate (only for about 10 minutes) but Rocco will now tell of the day he saved Philadelphia… 🙂
After that bit of excitement we were able to finish setting up then I made my way back to the parking garage and headed for the hotel to check-in and get dressed… where did I put the van… level 1 – NO… 2… walked right to it… much easier than Rochester… 🙂 But I have to go to the machines on level 1 to pay?? That took me a while to find but I figured it out… $20?!? I was only in there about 2 hours… oh this might be an expensive night… and I noticed most of the 1st level was now open… After navigating the spiraling exit ramps I found the exit gate, inserted my $20 ticket and headed back up the ramp to street level…
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I punched the address in the GPS and off I went… the Ben Franklin Bridge is pretty impressive… it’s no GW or the like but still pretty cool… but the roads in Jersey are insane!! Over… under… back and forth… left exit… right exit… just crazy!! Made it to the Best Western PLUS in Pennsauken in about 10 minutes but saw some traffic going the other way that made me nervous so I hustled in, unpacked, shaved, dressed and made a hasty return to Philly.
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Around the block and into the 6th Street entrance I go once again… 1st level cones are still out but I see lots of open spots and now know this drill… down to the 2nd level, around to the exit that brought me back to the 1st level then around the isle to an open spot right across from the elevators… I’m getting better at this city stuff… up the elevator to the visitor center doors… which are now locked… LOCKED?!? WTF?!? Now what?? Out the doors to 6th street and around the corner to the end of the building where I remember seeing what looks like an entrance… locked but a guy inside opened the door and when I told him I was with the wedding he said that was why he was there… whew!!! Up those same stairs and I was ready for the mini-set!!
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This party was different on so many levels… there was no assigned seating… sit where you want… dance… go back out on the terraces overlooking Philly and the Liberty Bell… hang near the never ending stream of food… whatever you want… The dance floor was packed from start to finish and everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives… This may have been the most people ever to stop by and thank us after a wedding… one after another… at one point it looked like a receiving line… what a great group of people!! One of the families (I think the bride’s) is from Saratoga… we later learned that it was more affordable – even with the travel and hotel accommodations (and the extra we had to charge) – to have the party in Philadelphia than in Saratoga!! WOW!!! And at the end of the night we each walked away with an additional $100 tip in our pockets… over-the-top generosity… THANK YOU!!
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Here are some pictures from an absolutely fabulous couple of days…
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By the time I was ready to load out everyone – and I do mean everyone except a few Liberty View staffers – were gone… I staged my 4 loads at the elevator and made my way back to the parking garage – hoping not to set off any alarms as I went through the visitor center… I kept feeling something sticky on my right hand but couldn’t imagine what I’d gotten into… when I reached the parking garage I noticed my right thumb, index and middle finger were dripping with blood!! What the Hell have I done?!? I got the passenger side door open and cleaned up with napkins… looks like some kind of puncture wound on the second knuckle of my middle finger… not sure how… I wrapped it in a clean napkin and headed out… I checked into the garage with a card this time so all I had to do was use the same card on the way out… $7… much better (on weekends, after 5:00pm it’s $7 for the night)… up the ramp and around the block and back to the loading zone where I was never so happy to see an open door in my life… up the elevator, pull everything in, back down to street level and in no time I was on the road again.
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I think I almost could have made the return trip to Best Western on my own but I punched the address back in the GPS and headed for the BF Bridge… what?? Turn right?!? OK… wait – the bridge is over there… turn left… take the ramp… WTF?!? The Garmin has me heading out some highway for 12 miles, making a u-turn then driving back 12 miles the other way to get to something else… SCREW THIS!!! I remember enough of the area – even at night – to get back to the Liberty View where I kicked in my Google Maps this time which got me back on track and back to the Best Western… after I found a parking spot I wandered toward the entrance pretty worn out from the day’s events and headed for the elevator, my private room (that I paid extra for) and a shower… my day is done… I’ve had my exit strategy planned since my arrival and was on schedule to be back in my room, showered and in bed so as to make an early departure in the morning. Thank you FE for a great weekend!!
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I was in bed by 1:30am, slept until about 7:00am, debated trying to get some more sleep, but I knew there was a Giants game which might add to the Jersey traffic so I got up, freshened up, got dressed, checked out and was on the road by 7:15 (packing the night before always helps). I had no traffic issues at all and even with a gas and bathroom stop I was home for lunch (and a nap) but still smiling at what I’d just experienced… the trip, the fantastic party and of course the money in the bank from back-to-back weddings that will pay for the $1200 worth of new tires and other work I had done to the van a couple days before I left. As part-time jobs go I could do a lot worse… 🙂
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October 12 – Hard to believe that a week ago we were playing in Philadelphia but here we were back home at Frog Alley Brewing Co. in Schenectady… my biggest concern was would we be inside or out (and the parking which sucks with all the construction)…
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I went around the block once… nothing… came back and headed down the hill next to Frog’s patio and parallel parked about 3 spaces down!! This would be a bear pushing everything up the hill to get in but it would be all down hill at the end of the night… perfect!! One concern put to rest…
As I walked past the patio I could now see that there was no stage setup which made me optimistic… a light rain had started to fall and I could hear the solo entertainer playing inside… I confirmed it with the owner… inside… WHEW!!–
I setup, tuned as best I could over the blaring sounds of an acoustic guitar going through a fuzz effect and waited to see what the evening would bring…
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The place was filling up nicely and it wasn’t until we were ready to start that I realized Mikey D wasn’t there… turned out he was home with his sick little guy just back from Albany Med… we’ve done it before so we just barreled through the two sets – skipping songs that Mike sings…
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It was a strange night – at least the first set – as only one or two couples danced… the place was full all the way to the back of the room but it felt more like a concert as they would erupt and scream after every song which was very cool… the second set must have had some crowd turnover because I noticed different people and the dance floor was filling up… It was a great night!! I felt like I was on my ‘A’ game and then some – executing everything I attempted… I have to think that the 15 minute warm-up I put in before we started really helped… I dug out my old Remo Putty Pad… a small plastic container with something resembling a red Silly Putty (for those old enough to remember that)… I just flatten it out to any size I want on any hard surface and I have an instant, fairly quiet practice pad!! I haven’t done an extended warm-up in quite a while and recently noticed some cramping in my hands for the first 30-45 minutes but not tonight…everything felt great from the first note to the last… the Putty Pad will stay in my case.
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October 18 – it’s been a while but tonight FE returns to Rivers for the first time since they opened their Esports betting parlor… and changed the hours – turning an easy 8:00-11:00 gig into drawn out 9:00-1:00am… I wasn’t sure what to expect from the modified hours or the remodeled room (the last time we were here the construction walls were up and it looked like they were going to cut the lounge by half) but I did know there probably wouldn’t be any security people to open the door so I just rolled through the parking garage and hotel entrance and made my way to the lounge…
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I was surprised and glad to see that the lounge was full size again… the Esports thing simply replaced where they used to have craps or poker or some other gambling tables setup that rarely got used… now what would the crowd be like?? Would there even be a crowd??
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There was a nice turnout and some familiar faces though it wasn’t packed by any means… by the end of the night I had a pretty good idea as to why… over the course of 4 hours there were TWO fist fights – both of them involving WOMEN!! As it got closer to midnight we could see the crowd changing to more of a late night hip-hop crowd – similar to what happens at Gaffney’s (and draws a late night police presence).
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I’m sure the decision to move to late night entertainment was driven by the almighty dollar but if the fracases we witnessed were any indication, and happen with any sort of frequency, they can expect a drop in audience as they cater to this chosen clientele.
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October 19 – FE’s second year in a row as the featured entertainment at the UAlbany Homecoming festivities!!
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Last year we had to talk our way through security which wasn’t going to let us drive in to unload at the stage perched in the middle of a field about a quarter mile from the stadium… but this year we were issued parking passes so I anticipated things would go much smoother… I was wrong of course…
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I rolled up to the first gate, told the two guys I was with FE and needed to get to the stage… they had to see my pass and directed me to go to the gate ahead and turn right then park on the grass, “Make sure you don’t park in this lot (to the left)!!”
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I started to turn right at the gate and another security person was there… I told her the same thing – that I was looking for the stage – and she told me to follow this path and the ‘flagged route’… I proceeded along the path and reached the area where the stage had been previously… no stage… no signs of life even… I kept going and found myself behind the visitor side of the stadium where there were miles and miles of flags and some that appeared to make a road which lead another half mile back across another field but I could see no stage off in the distance – only the UAlbany marching band… maybe the dumb asses thought I was with the marching band…
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By now I had left the van and was exploring on foot when Jeff arrived and I told him what I’d been told so far… we made our way back to a shed we had driven past where some guys were now loading golf carts with small generators and such… we told them what security kids had told us to which they smiled and aid that they weren’t the smartest people (yes – we know)… they pointed us back in the other direction – behind the UAlbany side of the stadium and the main entrance (and the parking lot we weren’t supposed to go to)… we pulled up to the stage, unloaded, parked back in the lot we were forbidden to use and proceeded to setup… and it was COLD!!
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The sun shown brightly… but not any where near the stage… thankfully for the thousands in attendance the area all around us was bathed in sunlight which kept them hanging out with us which was a welcome change from last year where everyone was so far away we might as well have been playing a recording. It was a great day… numerous people stopped to say how much they enjoyed our performance and the band seemed to be clicking on all cylinders – maybe because we were all excited at the prospect of being home on a Saturday night.
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When it was time to tear down we had a sunny stage and it was downright warm… I had to shed my jacket for the rest of the day and was packed and on the road at 4:05… job well done on all fronts.
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October 24 – tonight FE had the honor of playing for the Mechanicville Area Community Services Center 50th Anniversary Reunion!! The night was part of a fundraiser for the center as it continues to expand though the group had already exceeded their fundraising goal well before the event in large part thanks to Stewart’s shops… When the center reached out to Stewart’s for a donation they were told that, in honor of the 50th anniversary, if the center could raise $50,000 Stewart’s would match it!! It made for a great night in the Arts Center on the Hudson – an event facility carved out of an old church though getting in is a challenge…
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We knew there would be stairs no matter how we tried to gain access but the old stone front stairs were widely spaced and in need of repair so I opted for the back side entrance which only had a half dozen or so steps but they were inside and right next to the stage. Thankfully ‘AC’ Aaron Currado was on sound tonight and able to help me up the stairs with my two heaviest hardware cases…
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The church was still beautiful inside and the stage in two tiers was huge… I felt like I had my own zip code… the interior looked even more impressive after Rocco installed some wireless uplighting…
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——–Gold tie for the 50th… 🙂
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We didn’t know exactly what to expect as far as audience response… a 50th anniversary meant that there would most likely be a wide age range…and the church environment meant we would be loud no matter what we did but would we still be too loud?? That was the question…
The time table got pushed up as a number of the politically dignitaries schedules to attend had to be in DC for a funeral so after a former center president spoke and Stewart’s presented their generous check, FE hit the ground running.
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It appeared that many wanted to dance but were a little shy in the beginning but it only took a few more songs and the dance floor started to fill… whew!!
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The plan was for 2 long sets with a tour of the center (right next door) and some raffles in between sets… but, as we suspected on a week night, after the tour, many of those in attendance just went home. The staff decided to forego the raffles and we played our second set for the dancing faithful who remained.
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At the end of the night everyone was thrilled with the turn out and the band’s performance and hoped to have us back for some of their own events.
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One of the highlights of the night for me occurred right before the second set… as I approached the stage a man stopped me, asked if I was the drummer, then asked if I knew Gene Garone… of course I know Gene… love Gene… funny guy and a fantastic drummer… this was his son!! He ran the company that catered the event!! WOW!! Small world!! I had heard that the event was being catered by the company from the golf course I used to play regularly… this would make sense since I knew they were having live music there now and before we parted he said he’d love to get us at his place… time will tell…
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This was my view for the night…
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October 26 – tonight FE returns for the 4th annual Hallo-WINE party at the Saratoga Winery… the group’s played this event every year since it began back in 2016… that year you may recall (if you were there or have read my previous installments) there was SNOW the night before which collapsed one of the tents… we moved to a raised deck and, while there were heaters out front, there was nothing back where I was perched over the previous day’s snow and I proceeded to freeze the entire night… this would become an annual tradition… but not this year!!
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Over the summer the winery opened a newly constructed addition for large parties and events and I for one was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of not freezing my ass off all night!! This also gave me the chance to play in costume with the rest of the group (it had been so cold in previous years that it wouldn’t matter what I wore since it would be concealed under my winter jacket and hat)… but not tonight!!
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About 5 years ago I was fortunate enough to be filling in with FE when they played their 500th show and the decision was made to dress up in 70’s / 80’s funk type costumes… I found one that resembled the band’s original logo and thought it would be fun to name the character ‘Groove Champion’ (from the old Interstate ’76 video game) which seemed appropriate for a drummer… oh yeah, I started publicizing that he was the group’s original drummer – ‘the former face of Funk Evolution’ since he was in the logo… I went so far as to create a whole plot line around him and his antics and he would make a couple more appearances in the years to follow until his untimely arrest. But he’s out now, has a new, updated (for him) look and subbing for me at the Hallo-WINE party so that I can say hello to my friends in Kansas and catch their show at the Palace in Albany… what a guy… 🙂
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Here’s the new Groove Champion…
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The winery’s new room is beautiful!! Of course they had the doors propped open so I was colder than I wanted but it was still better than freezing in those tents… Rocco hired someone to do some lighting which was different… With the help of Rocco’s wife Aimee I was able to deal with hair (I haven’t had any in 30 years) and spirit gumming a mustache on (I shaved my whole head clean just for this occasion) and brought Groove to life for this one night. The shoes would be the biggest challenge (at right)… I knew I wouldn’t be able to play in them (changed to sneakers before each set) but I wasn’t sure I could even walk without breaking my ass… turned out I was fine… must have been muscle memory from when I regularly wore shoes like this back in the 70’s… FYI… you can’t tell from that picture but those socks are bright metallic yellow…
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The rest of the band was in the spirit as usual but I haven’t got pictures of everyone just yet…
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When we arrived we were told that they had stopped online ticket sales at 550 and expected around 200 at the door… that ended up being over 300 and when it was all over they estimated the total crowd inside and out to be around 900 people!! And that is why they have a new room and why FE will be returning in March for the 2nd annual St. Patrick’s Day party… nicely done Saratoga Winery!!
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Here’s a look at some of the crowd…
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November 6 – FE’s back in actions after our first full weekend off since back in March or April… well, off for the rest of the band… I had to drive 6.5 hours each way to attend my sister-in-laws wedding in Lewistown, PA… I’m very happy for Nequila and Josh (and Noah)!! It was a beautiful ceremony and a fun reception… and the BNB we stayed at was absolutely charming and very restful… now it’s back to work!!
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Tonight we had a rare Wednesday night corporate gig and our first visit to the Parting Glass in Saratoga!! Definitely a more laid back vibe than last years school business officials gathering at the Hall of Springs… when we fired up the PA after dinner the room pretty much emptied into a side room… uh-oh… but it wasn’t long before some of the ladies started warming up to the dance floor and the band… then a couple guys got in the mix… before long it was an FE party and by the end of the night no one wanted to leave. It turned out to be a great party!!
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November 9 – FE returns to Keeler Mercedes for their annual customer appreciation party!! We played this a couple years ago and I love how they transform the entire dealership with tall drapes, tables and chairs, a photo booth, bars and food and FE of course.
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Since it was decorated in blue and white I broke out my blue and white tie (which made me look like Keeler salesman of the month)…
It was a nice party and looked like they had a decent turnout… on break I made my way to the back section in search of water and discovered there was a shit ton of people!! Very nice people dressed mostly in white… white suits… white dresses… white tuxes… I thought was a little odd until the end of the night when an older gentlemen (possibly Mr. Keeler himself) took to the mic for the raffles, thanked everyone for coming out… said that when they asked everyone to wear white someone said, ‘no one’s going to wear white’ but about 3/4 of those in attendance did!! He then told how very surprised and happy he was that 800+ people would come to a car dealership in Albany on a Friday night. At the end of the night he was talking with Rocco and someone asked him if he’d ever seen that many people dancing at the event… without blinking he replied, “Yes – the last time this band played.” Thank you. 🙂
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November 10 – FE’s first wedding at the Gideon Putnam and my first since back in the 90’s… and it would be one of the most bizarre nights I’ve ever seen…
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The room was pretty sterile looking until Rocco worked his uplight magic… it looked better when the house lights came down…
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Before I get into that, I have to say that the Gideon Putnam staff has to be some of the nicest people we’ve ever dealt with… from the maintenance guys who directed us with load in and case storage options right through to the wait staff and bartenders… just wonderful people to deal with!! And the burgundy napkins and flowers were an easy tie match for me… Then there’s the flipside… this wedding party…
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It seemed to start off a little slow which is typical of some weddings… but most of those in attendance that we encountered were acting very differently… a little off… From the first people I passed I thought they may have already had too much to drink… and that was before they’d even entered the banquet room!! When we started our party set the male guests were acting the strangest… shirt tales already out… swinging napkins over their heads… one guy holding up a trophy for something… just really odd behavior for so early in the night… FE played for 2 hours non-stop which is very different for us at a wedding… maybe Roc was trying to get the party to shift into high gear but as the night went on there was never more than 20-30 people on the dance floor… and, with a couple minor exceptions, they rarely interacted or even acknowledged that we were performing… really bizarre…
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At the end of the night Rocco announced our last tune and while we were playing it a guy approached the stage with a wad of cash asking for one more song and became obviously agitated when Rocco explained that we couldn’t because the venue would have charged the bride and groom another $1500 if we played a minute past the end time (this is now the norm in most places though some charge more)… towards the end of the song I heard one of our expensive wireless mics hit the floor and looked up in time to see it disappear into the crowd in the hands of a tall blonde… then that guy was back and insisted that we play ‘Shout’ but that was strictly outlined in the contract – the bride and groom didn’t want any group dances… When we finished and Rocco started the recording of Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind’ the guy got really pissed because, according to him, their parties always end with a Journey song… Rocco explained that this was the bride and groom’s request and the guy stomped off.
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When it was all done we all stood there shaking our heads wondering what in the world just happened?? We all agreed that there was apparently too much alcohol consumption too early in the DAY but WOW!!! I went to the storage area behind the main bar to retrieve my empty cases and the girl tending that bar was in the store room and had a similar take on the evening… she kept saying, “WTF was that?!? We’ve never been treated like this by any group!!” She was told that there was a large amount of Cocaine in play in addition to the drinks… HOLY CRAP!! I would later hear similar tales of how extremely rude and entitled these guests were from other staff members while packing up… I related this to Rocco and his sources informed him that there were a number of NYC mob bosses in attendance… are you shitting me?!? OK – now I’ve heard it all… That would explain a lot of what we were seeing… there had to be a lot of money in the room and money breeds entitlement and the feeling that they can do or say whatever they want… if this is the clientele that the Gideon Putnam now caters to I hope it’s at least another 20+ years before we book another one!!
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November 14 – FE is honored to perform for the NYS Women In Law Enforcement on a rare Thursday night gig at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga!! I opted for the NYS Police purple and grey color scheme which coincidentally matched the ladies logo… lucky guess on my part…
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As with the Gideon Putnam last week, this is the first time I’ve played here since the late 90’s… The only problem we had was setup (which would be the theme for this week)… the conference activities wouldn’t end until 5:00 and the dinner started at 6:00 leaving only a 1 hour window for us to get in and setup AND for the Holiday Inn staff to ‘flip the room’… I was given the option of setting up the night before (Wednesday) which made the whole thing a breeze for me… and the staff there couldn’t have been nicer!! On Thursday night, Jeff and Rocco were able to get sound and lights up and everything was in place and ready to go in plenty of time.
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We had received a late email saying that the party would be women in the 25-50 age range and they wanted 90’s and new country… REALLY?!? Who hired us?? Now we’re worried about what to play… We went with our usual routine and these ladies came to party so it all worked out and everyone had a great time (including the hotel staff)!!
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Sabrina was suffering with a head cold and I could hear her voice going and made some setlist substitutions the end of the night so she’d hopefully have something left for the next night…
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One of the highlights of the night was getting to play with an off duty police dog who was loaded with energy after being stuck in a hotel room most of the day…
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It was a great night and I hope we’re asked back next year!!
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Here’s a shot from the back of the room…
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November 15 – Another night with a tight setup as FE returns to Frog Alley Brewing in Schenectady for an odd late night…
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Tonight was a special show sponsored by WEQX and featuring a free show by a fabulous group out of Shreveport, LA called the Seretones!! They would perform at 7:30 and FE would go on at 10:00 after a 1 hour transition…
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I rolled in about 4:30 in hopes of finding a place to park and unload by getting there ridiculously early which worked out like a charm. Jeff must have had the same idea because he pulled up just minutes after I did and we both proceeded to load in and pre-stage behind the stage… On our first trip in we noticed a chocolate lab lying next to one of the tables and had to stop of course… the three guys said his name was Sherman and he was obviously enjoying all the extra attention – rolling over for belly-rubs at one point and jumping on to Jeff’s legs as he squatted down – knocking him over then licking his face… 🙂
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Once we finished playing with Sherman I was able to preset my stealth racks, tune everything and mount mics, etc. so when the time came I could plop down my rug and kick, slide the racks into position and finish setting up…
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In the meantime I ate, took meds as I felt a soar throat coming on all day, changed clothes, got a little rest and managed a chair to the stage right of the band and settled in to watch the set… They sounded great and the lead singer was fabulous!!! I really enjoyed their show!!
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It was 15-20 minutes before they even started breaking down their equipment and I always worry that we won’t be ready on time but they eventually cleared the stage… I think I was ready to go in about 20 minutes!! My pre-staging and planning paid off… Perfect!!! But what kind of crowd (if any) would stick around for us?? Turned out to be a mix of ages but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves… except Sabrina… her voice was shot and she was leaving out the high notes most of the night… definitely not one of our better nights… but it must have been OK because while we were packing up Rocco got a text from a bride and groom who happened to be in attendance and wanted to book us right then which made me feel a little better!!
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My throat was killing me by the end of the night… After the hour trip home I sprayed Chloraseptic all night and tried to sleep… it was a little better by the next morning but I was out – getting up long enough to eat and not much else… The band’s off next weekend but I have two holiday parades with the Alumni Drumline… crossing my fingers I can shake this and soon!!
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November 23 + 24 – my first FE weekend off since maybe March so what do I do?? How about two parades with the Alumni Drumline!! Both went very well though and we thoroughly enjoy being joined by members of the color guard… these ladies and gent do a fabulous job!! While Saturday night in Schenectady was just cold, Sunday afternoon in South Glens Falls was absolutely miserable!! Easily the worst weather we’ve ever marched in… low / mid 30’s… steady rain and heavy wind gusts… by the time we reached the end I, for the first time, could not feel the first three fingers on both hands!! AND I was soaked!! To everyone’s shock and amazement there were people out to see it and we had a blast as usual but were glad to get this one over with…
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Click the images below for some video highlight from the parades…
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Next up the drumline is going to escort Santa through Saratoga as part of this year’s Victorian Stroll!!
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November 27 – tonight FE returned to Rivers Casino for another Thanksgiving Eve performance… Sabrina was still out on a cruise so we had the pleasure of Elizabeth from the Refrigerators on lead vocals and she did a fabulous job. The casino told us prior to starting that they didn’t expect anyone to be around by midnight… the place was still jammed and DJ Ketchup took over at 1:00 for the dancing faithful still having a good time.
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November 30 – FE returns to JP Bruno’s in Glens Falls for the first time in 5 years…
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As one of the very few gigs close to home for me you’d think I’d be looking forward to this… quite the contrary… I actually tried to get Rocco to cancel it on multiple occasions – telling him if he booked it so I’d have something closer to home he needn’t bother… I live here and won’t go in the place… I knew no one else was looking forward to making the hour drive (that I make at least once a week – closer to 2 hours for Sabrina), the late 10:00 start and 2:00am finish and the stories I’ve been hearing of drug deals in the bathroom and the like have me on edge…
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I arrived very early as usual and found a parking spot right in front of the door… the place smelled as bad as I remember and the heavy spring on the front door made it unnecessarily difficult to load in but I managed… I setup and met the sound guy (Bob) and hung out waiting for a sound check that never came so I watched some basketball and football and hockey and tried not to breath the foul air… turns out that a few weeks earlier the venue had some sort of septic issue that flooded the place with several inches of raw sewage… rather than remove it their solution was to place a bunch of fans around to dry it up… my understanding was that everything was still squishy only days prior to our performance… this incident might explain why there was no john in the men’s room – only two urinals uncomfortably close together… classy place…
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When we were ready to start I asked the guys up front if they could hear my sample pad and there was nothing of course… 10 minutes later there was a hint of it… could have left that home… we launched into our set for the dozen or so people that were there… Sabrina’s voice was nowhere to be heard for the first couple of songs and there was feedback coming from somewhere all night – it never got better…
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It was every bit the shit show I had anticipated (minus the underworld dealings)… I’m pretty sure most of the band was ready to go home after the first set… I hope Rocco now remembers that we stopped booking there because of the seedy atmosphere, late night AND because the horrible sound cost us some weddings!! With any luck it will be bulldozed like much of the rest of South Street by the time someone thinks of playing there again.
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December 5 – AGAD was asked to escort Santa down Broadway in Saratoga as part of the 33rd annual Victorian Stroll… the event coordinators had asked multiple HS bands and none would do it… they must have remembered us from somewhere and when asked we were excited to jump in!!
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December 6 – FE made its first appearance at the Plug Power holiday party held in the Rivers Casino convention center… from what I’ve read Plug Power deals with alternative energy and things like Teslas, etc…
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In the weeks just prior I was doing some online Christmas shopping and stumbled on a shiny vest… bought myself something pretty as they say… made me feel all sorts of festive for the party… funny thing was, as I walked around the casino killing time before our performance, not one but TWO different groups asked if I was the owner!! Made me chuckle… then I noticed casino staff acting more friendly as I passed… obviously they don’t know what the owner looks like either…
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We played our first set just as the casino opened the doors to let people in for dinner and to make their way through the long buffet line… before long a few people were dancing, then a few more and by the end of the set it was a party and the CEO took the mic to say a few words.
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The second set picked up right where we’d left off and the dancing continued through the last song… great group of people… very nice…
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Here are a couple shots of the room before we played…
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Of course the day wasn’t without incident but it had nothing to do with the party or venue…
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It had been snowing all day… not heavy – only 3-4 inches total – and the roads were a little slick… I left school early not knowing the road conditions and to get unloaded and parked with ample time to setup and get dressed of course… I was only 15-20 minutes into setting up and my wife calls and asks if our daughter had called (both thinking I was still at school… no one listens or reads the calendars I’ve shared with them)… seems she had left shortly after I went to work to visit her boyfriend (who’s not far from the school where I work), ignored the fact that it was snowing, never checked the forecast, claims to have not noticed it was snowing all day, left for work that afternoon and couldn’t stop at the end of the boyfriend’s road, slid across both lanes of a busy main road, ended up sideways (because she was no doubt still trying to turn) and ended up on the cable of the guard rail!! This was her first time alone on snow (and hopefully she’ll make better choices next time)… she’s fine but was shaken up and didn’t want to drive right then… we’re still waiting for the final total on the damage but I’m sure I’ll need an additional job for the new insurance rate I’m going to be hit with… the state police and tow truck driver thought the car was driveable but she parked it in a farmer’s driveway and we picked it up the next morning… a couple days later the shop that will do the repairs checked it out because over 45 mph it starts to shake but said they could see nothing major and cleared it to be driven…
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A rare weekend off coming up… FE lost TWO holiday parties at the last minute – the Colonie PD had to change their date (we were already booked) and the Saratoga Racing Museum was taken over by a company that doesn’t allow holiday parties (nice)… one more show before Christmas (Frog Alley) then the big New Years Eve extravaganza back in the convention center at Rivers Casino to round out the year.
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Plug Power UPDATE: A few days after the event we got an email from Rocco saying that Plug Power is blowing up his phone with requests saying they’ve never had a party atmosphere like we created and the CEO never dances (he did that night)… they’ve already booked us for next year’s party and asked if we’d be interested in playing various functions they have and major announcements and how far we’re willing to travel for national announcements that they would fly us to… it’s private jet time!!! Logistically it might be impossible since everyone works various day jobs but the accolades were much appreciated… pretty incredible really… 🙂
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December 21 – FE’s final appearance at Frog Alley Brewing for 2019 (but I think we’re here once a month for the next 2 years)… Mikey D was absent again – this time a calendar mix up so he and his family were wandering the streets of Manhattan… the band ‘Stretch’ was playing the early slot (very nice people) and there were Holiday parties and pub crawls going through so the place was packed early, others joined them and everybody stayed late – 3 encores late!! Everyone – band included – was having a pre-Christmas good time that no one wanted to end…
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Unfortunately no one got any pictures or video but at the end of the night – even being down a member – we had booked 2 more weddings!! Great job FE!!
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December 31 – FE makes its 3rd consecutive New Years Eve appearance at Rivers Casino and our 2nd in the posh convention center!!
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Last year we were nervous because we were in this huge venue where they were charging $50 / person and there are plenty of other FREE options in the area including the lounge right at the casino but it turned out to be a great party and around 1000 people (due in no small part to all the TV advertising they did)…
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This year we were nervous again because the free option in the lounge was non-other than The Refrigerators – easily one of the most popular bands in the area… I wondered if this would kill our draw and next year we might be out…
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During the weeks leading up to the performance I was constantly getting emails and messages from people who saw me on TV again… a few days prior we received word that ticket sales were about 150 ahead of last year… the morning of the 31st I was setting up and got a text from Rocco saying that pre-sales were around 1050!! I’m still not ready to concede that this has much to do with FE as a whole (though we are developing a bit of a following)… I think part of it is there are places to stay nearby and shuttles back and forth… and part of me wonders if a bigger part of it might not be that $50 ultimately is a small price to pay for an essentially private affair – isolated from the over-inebriated riff-raff that a free show might attract in many places… at any rate, the convention center AND the lounge were both jammed!! I don’t thing the casino could have handled any more people though security remained tight throughout the evening.
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Sadly, this was keyboardist Nick Marotta’s last show with us as a full time member (he’s booked for a couple sub dates already)… I will miss his youthful energy and his guidance towards material that others his age would find entertaining… he’s a very talented player though over the last several months – particularly since making his decision to leave known – his playing has lost it’s focus and he’s developed a tendency towards overplaying… it was allowed to continue but if he should join another group I have a feeling that they might reign him in pretty hard. Still, it’s been my great pleasure to know and play with and see him grow as he joined us right out of high school and played with us his entire Siena college career… take that degree for a spin, Nick – you’ve earned it!! Best of Luck!!
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Here are some pictures of the amazing room – complete with aerialists the entire night…
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This was the room when I finished setup around noon (they have a dinner show before we’re allowed to enter at 8:00 but I was allowed to setup at 10:00am)…
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And here’s what it looked like just prior to opening the doors…
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…and after the party started…
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What a party!! I’m anxious to see if the casino was pleased… Rocco has to attend a post event meeting each year… last year we told them the biggest complaint we got was the lack of bartenders (people would wait in line 45 minutes for a drink and drink it while they got back in line to get another)… this year about the only negatives we heard were that convention center staff started breaking down tables right after midnight which drove some people out… also, as soon as we played our last note, the work lights were on and security was chasing people out saying ‘they had to clear the room to setup for the next group’ which for our way of thinking is just another way of saying ‘we already took your money – get out so we can take someone else’s’…
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It really is a fabulous room… High Peaks provides an amazing sound system and stage and the lighting is also top notch… I definitely wouldn’t mind playing this a few more times… 🙂
