Jeff’s Blog

No longer the JD’s Prime Spot and some nice changes. I really liked that the stage was moved into the bar area. Funny thing about the new name – Tony is Mick’s dog.  Thanks to all who made the trip down…a lot of familiar faces and a good time. Tim and Bob were both not feeling up to par this weekend and we hope they’re better soon. Trevor was the man this weekend handling lights, sound, and the webcam. Matt got in a few pics which are up on our myspace site. Another issue was this was a non-smoking bar. People have different views on this and I understand both sides. Personally, if going non-smoking causes a place to lose business, which could mean not running bands, then I’d rather play in the smoke! It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Next weekend we’re at the Countryside for Rich’s version of “break in the weather”. Friday night we’re inside, but with another band’s equipment. I’m confident Tim will find and dial in the right knobs, but it’ll be different. On Saturday afternoon (3 -7) we’re outside with our own equipment. Hopefully it’ll be warm and we’ll see you there! 

The old Mo’s Pub is now Johnny’s office and we had a good time playing there.  Thanks to Nina, Arden, Bonnie, Stacy, Stacie, Laurie, and everyone that stopped out. Also another night with the web cam. At the end of the night, the owner bought us all a round for the road, which was a nice gesture. Saturday afternoon was a band practice where we brought back “You May Be Right” (Billy Joel) We played it that night and it went well. Saturday was a return to Brooklyn, where we’ve played a number of years now. Thanks to all who made the trip over. While setting up, one of people in charge asked us to play a CD on break. We didn’t have the right cord and could have easily said sorry. Tim took it upon himself to drive to Madison, where he worked and knew the right cable would be there. I’m a believer in actions speak and I was quite impressed with what he did. He returned with the right connection and everyone was happy. There was popcorn on all the tables so I was especially happy…I’d also like to thank Greg for putting up the new site and walking me through how to use it. Hopefully I’ll get it – this is the 1st attempt. Next week we’re back in Beloit and Mick & Tony’s (the old JD’s Prime Spot). Cyndi’s been there and says it’s all remodeled which we’re looking forward to seeing. Stop out and say hello and we’ll see you there!

Another successful weekend with the webcam. The live chat is a fun aspect and something I took advantage of on breaks. I got hit with a pretty bad chest cold this week – knocked me out of a couple days at work and lost my voice this weekend. Much credit to Cyndi and Jason who carried both nights. We had a decent crowd on Friday and Saturday was great. Saturday saw Eileen with a Bday and and a bachelorette party. Good cake! We appreciate you spending your party time with us. Tim found and cued up the Dexys Midnight Runners hit “Come on Eileen” just for her – probably something she’s never heard before…I was a little surprised by not a lot of the wearing of the green in honor of St. Patty’s day. I brought a Packer jersey, not very Irish, but opted for something more comfortable due to my cold. Anyway, we got through it and now it’s a weekend off to recuperate. I have some new songs to work on so hopefully we’ll be adding them soon. And it’ll probably be the blues jam on Wednesday to keep my fingers in shape! It’s off to “Johnny’s Office” (the old Mo’s Pub in Edgerton) on the 28th and back to Brooklyn for the Snow Hornets snowmobile club fund raiser on the 29th. Both should be fun and we’ll see you there!

The big story of the weekend was the live webcam broadcast. Mucho thanks to Trevor and all involved in setting this up. Holly watched the band (kept an eye on me) both nights. The really cool thing was the live chat where people could make comments, ask questions, etc. It went over really well and now I see we’re doing it again this weekend at the Owl’s Club. Stacy made the comment in the guest book that it should be Favre Friday, so Matt and I both showed up in Favre jerseys. There were the expected “mom dressed us” remarks. And even though I have a: “Things I have in common with Brett Favre” blog – I’m not going to retire. Cyndi showed me some preliminary posters with the Miller sponsorship, so those should be coming out soon. Not much else other than it was a fun weekend and thanks to those who stopped out. On a completely unrelated subject – I took off work this afternoon (Monday) so Holly and I could see the “Body World” exhibit at the Milwaukee museum. She really wanted to see it and it was quite interesting. Now I know where my prostrate is…the things you do when you get old. We hope you come out to the Owl’s club this weekend rather than stay at home in front of a computer screen – probably holding a cold one. But spread the word to anyone who’d like to view us on the net and we’ll see you there!

The weather finally cooperated and we played the whole weekend at the Countryside. Both nights were good turnouts we and saw a lot of familiar faces. Laura was out on Friday, with camera in hand, and took a few more band pictures. We should have new posters soon. It was Bday weekend with drummer Bob, Matt’s daughter and my niece, Kami, and Stacy all celebrating. Kami had her 21st there last year, and let’s just say that 22 was a bit more tame. KJ Persall was out Saturday night. I mention him because he, Cyndi, (owner) Rich Erdman, and I had a band called “Country Is” and then “Midnight Blue” before Rainbow Bridge. KJ is largely responsible for getting Cyndi and I playing together. I also believe Bob played in bands with him too. Check out my personal history blog in June 2007 for more detail. Also out was former bass player Kath Johnson, who got up and performed a few songs. When Kath takes over the bass, Matt switches to guitar, which is fun for both of us. Saturday was probably the best crowd we’ve ever had there and thanks to everyone who came out and made it a fun night. On Sunday night, we had a band birthday party at the Prime Quarter for Bob. It was a lot of driving for me having to head over to Milwaukee to pick up Holly and then turn around and drive back for the party, but it was worth it. Everyone was there, even Tim and Trevor, which made it a special night. It’s just cool when everyone can get together outside of band jobs and hang out like that. Actually, Bob was the first to make that comment. I overheard talk of Trevor trying a live webcam to our site from Tremors this coming weekend. He’s trying to outdo his own video work and must be looking for a new challenge. More on this to follow…Anyway, stop out to Tremors this weekend and say hello. We’ll see you there!

Two good nights at Tremors and as always, thanks to all who stopped out. The big scare was what Saturday night was going to be like with the weather. It sure didn’t keep people home as we had a full house all night. It was raining when were packing up and the roads were icy. But it wasn’t as bad as predicted. Jason was celebrating a birthday this weekend and quite a few people came out to wish him a good one. Speaking of birthdays, I believe Bob and Trevor are both celebrating in March. Seems we’re all getting older….I finally got around to spending my birthday Guitar Center gift certificate from Bob on Saturday. It’s fun to browse guitars and amps but it was just as interesting to note the diverse age groups and personalities all interested in guitar playing. It was cool when I was 9 and still is at 51. Maybe it’s one of those things that keeps you feeling young – or just never maturing! The new songs we’ve added the past weeks are going over well and are now comfortable to play. It’s time to start working on some new ones and I’ll have time seeing that we’re off next week.
I made the comment that it must have been a full moon weekend. We had a guy on the dance floor doing pushups and playing “air instruments” a little too close to the bandstand. There’s another guy who also gets uncomfortably close and will point and comment at us while we’re playing. And, we had a guy come up and assume he was going to play Bob’s drums. We let him play the tambourine – which he broke! To their credit, the bouncers keep an eye on this and will step in if things are too distracting or disruptive, which we appreciate. Anyway, as mentioned, it’s a week off and time to start working on new tunes. Then it’s back to the Countryside on the 29th and 1st. Hopefully, we’ll actually play both nights! See you there!!

It’s getting to be the curse of the winter – cancelled due to weather. As you know, we played Friday night and were called off on Saturday. But Friday was okay and we had a good time – even pulled a few oddballs out of the archives. Bob had already left on Saturday and was actually waiting at the Countryside for the rest of the band to show up. I thought about going out Saturday but my better sense said to stay put at mom and dads. It was a night of watching TV and playing my guitar. We met up on Sunday morning to tear down and the roads were still quite slick. But we got everything put away and then it was a trip back to Milwaukee for me. I’d like to say thanks to former member Cary Farmer for stopping out and also to Trevor, who took care of both light and sound duty as Tim was sick. Hopefully, we’ll be back in full force for two nights at Tremors next weekend. And, Jason will be celebrating a Bday this upcoming weekend – the 15th according to Cyndi and the guest book. Aren’t golden birthdays special? Just kidding J-man! See you at Tremors.

One nighter at Knutes and it was a good time. Thanks to all who made the trip to Orfordville: Earl, Laura, Kami & John, Stacie, Elizabeth & Mark’s mommy, and Janesville Jod to name a few. (see our myspace site) Bit of nostalgia – I remember playing there with “Eye to Eye” in the early ’70s when I was in my mid-teens. It was called “Golden Acres” then. In other band news – we are once again sponsored by Miller and should have new posters soon. Now if I played slide with a beer bottle, it has to be Miller. And I’m wondering if the Miller girls are going to be at any of the jobs. Hmmm….
On some personal news – my sister and father were both in the hospital this week. Sheri had minor surgery and my father is dealing with skin cancer. Both are home and doing okay. Holly starts a new job on Monday and is excited about working again. Anyway, it’s back to the Countryside next weekend (8 & 9) and hopefully the weather will give us a break this time. Stop out and say hello. See you there!

Fun weekend at the Owl’s club. Pics are up on our myspace site – thanks to Matt – which you can link to from here. It’s almost getting to be predictable that Fridays are okay and Saturdays are good. But, as long as people still come out to hear the band and dance the night away, we’ll keep going. Thanks to all who came out and wished the old guy a good one. I even brought out my walker/mic stand from last year. After we finished on Friday, we had an “after hours” practice and relearned “Heartbreaker” from Pat Benatar. It’s a fun one to play and went over well on Saturday. Jason gave me an Olive Garden gift card and Holly and I took full advantage of it here in Milwaukee Sunday night. Holly even had the house decorated when I got home which was a nice surprise too. Next Friday, it’s a one-nighter at Knutes in Orfordville. We haven’t been there in a while but it’s a fun bar. Stop out Friday and get your Rainbow Bridge fix for the weekend. See you at Knutes!

Friday was an okay night, not real busy but steady. It was hard to say what effect the cold would have on everything. We had a band practice Saturday afternoon and learned “Smooth” and brought back “Love Her Madly”. Both songs went over well Saturday night. It felt good to play again after the week off. Jason made it back from Mexico and everything fell right back into place. The big surprise was the great crowd on Saturday. We had a packed house from start to finish. Tremors had a “customer appreciation day” Saturday, and although I didn’t go and have no idea what went on, it probably was a factor in the good turnout. A side story on our new songs – I was practicing in my parents basement Saturday morning and when I came up, my 73 year old father said, “Jammin’ on some Santana down there? Thought I heard the Doors too.” I thought if it wasn’t Dean Martin he wouldn’t have any idea. Go figure…Next week it’s back to the Owl’s Club where the oldest guy in the band will be even older. Hard to believe a year has passed already. Anyway, stop out, say hello, and try to get over the Packer’s loss. Hey, a great season and Central division champs – and Holly says I see the glass half empty – See you at the Owl’s Club!