Jeff’s Blog

A great day at the fair – perfect weather and a good crowd. Bob was feeling 100% better than Friday and Jason had most of his voice back. Holly and I had a nice ride over on the bike too. Once again, happy Bday to Dawn and Laura – both were there. We saw quite a few familiar faces and tried to say hello to as many people as possible on breaks. As always, thanks to everybody who stopped out. Jobs like this and Porkfest are different for us as we’re used to a dancing crowd. Having people just sit and listen is a little different, but I think over the years we’ve become more comfortable in these situations. Overall, we had a good time and hope everyone else did too. I did do the National Guard pushup contest again this year. They asked me what I wanted, and I said a T-shirt would be fine – 30 pushups for a T-shirt. After 30+ they stopped me but I was ready for more! Oh well, a free shirt is a free shirt…We’re off next weekend which means more house chores for me…but I don’t mind. Then it looks like the Countryside on the 10th and Crazyhorse on the 11th. A couple of band Bdays this month too: Tim on the 12th (party at the Countryside) and Cyndi on the 17th (party at Tremors). Be sure to stop out and wish a good one to Tim and Cyndi. We’ll see you at the Countryside – lights and all!

Just thought I’d do an entry as it’s Sunday and I’m up early – gotta feed the cats and let the dog out…Just a one-nighter at the Owl’s club and it was a rough one. Bob and Jason were both “under the weather” which made for a long night. Bob has some kind of virus which has him feeling, in his own words, “weak”. Play drums when you’re sick is no picnic as it is a very physical activity. Your body is saying rest and then you stay out late hitting things for four hours – not good. He went in for tests yesterday (Saturday) and we hope he’s feeing a little better for the fair today. Jason had a cold and was not able to sing a lot of his songs. But the team effort was there as everybody else, especially Cyndi, stepped up doing more songs. We made it through and thanks to all came out: Stacy and Staci, Dorothy, Laurie, sister Sheri & husband Willie, and even mom and dad to name a few. Playing sick is something we’ve all had to do as there are not a lot of options in a band. You can’t call in sick – it’s either play anyway, find a fill in player, find the bar another band, or cancel the job. We rarely use fill-ins as you have to know the songs. Russ Wallace and John Nelson have both filled in on bass, but we practiced first and had time to write out some charts. Canceling a job is a last resort and I don’t believe in 31 years it’s ever come to that. I’ve filled in a few times with bands in the same situation: Stateline Playboys, Hit Men, Manberries, and Two-Timer. Anyway, it’s off to the fair this afternoon. Tim was nice enough to bring my guitar so that Holly and I could ride “Buttercup” (motorcycle nickname) today. The weather looks great and we hope Bob and Jason are feeling better. Should be fun and we’re looking forward to it. See you at the fair!

Another fun weekend at Tremors and as always thanks to all who stopped out. Laura was out Friday with her camera and took some new band photos – Bob had posters made with the new pic ready for Saturday night. Hopefully that and the new bio “mugs” will be up soon. I have to acknowledge the behind the scenes work of our light man, Trevor, who pretty much went without sleep this week to have the new light system re-wired and ready to *shine* for the weekend. You know, it’s just like the Tremors – Tremers issue…it’s says Trevis on the bio page but we call him Trevor. He’s a fun guy and does a lot of hard work, but I really don’t know who the heck he is or where he came from…kidding aside, the “beyond the call of duty” is appreciated and the lights looked great.
Jason added a couple of new songs this week: “I’ll Be” and “Cadillac Ranch.” Both songs went over well and are fun to play. We can’t play all the songs we know in one night and try to change it up on a two-nighter like Tremors. Just another reason to see us both nights as you’ll never know what you’ll hear!
Sunday afternoon was “Heritage Days” in Edgerton. (Tobacco Days for the history buffs) It was fun to be back there again and thanks to the sound company guys for being so accommodating and fun to work with.
We’re back at the Owl’s club for a one-nighter this Friday so if you wanna dance, you’ll have to stop out Friday. Then it’s off to the Rock county fair on Sunday afternoon for a 3 hour show…a 3 hour show…(Insert Gilligan’s Island theme here – sorry, I have attention deficit) Anyway, stop out to see us from 4 – 7 at the fair. It’s Dawn and Laura’s birthday Sunday so be sure to wish them a happy Bday. I may even do the National Guard pushup contest again this year – we’ll see – maybe I could win the senior division…
See you at the Owl’s club and the fair!

Two full jobs in one day – busy, and a lot of practice unloading and loading the trailer. The Verona job was a very elaborate company picnic party. We had great weather and a nice size stage to play on but most of the people were outside enjoying the sunshine and other festivities. Although they did bring their food into the tent to watch the band and we had a good “listening crowd” at some points. I just had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled this week and the afternoon was a painful one for me – it was better in the evening. Old age and wisdom – now it’s just old age….fill in your own joke here….
Well, it’s official – original drummer, Rich Erdman and his wife Kelly are the new owners of the Countryside. We had a good crowd Saturday night and it looks like we may be playing there more often. It’s ironic that another former drummer, Tim Pogorelski, also bought a bar – Boxcars in Clinton. Rich was the perfect host, handing out free jello shots to all the customers. Rich is quite the businessman and I’m sure he’ll make a successful go of the bar. We’re still working on getting our lights fixed after the storm damage on the 4th, but did put up a few par cans in front so we wouldn’t be in the dark. In the past we played using the mandatory “house lights” (colored flood lights in the ceiling) and people complained that you couldn’t see us. And to prove you just can’t please everybody – I had some one come up to me and complain that our lights were too bright and asked if we could dim them. You can’t win….somehow it seems I’m reminded of that every time we play. Anyway, we’re planning on practicing this week and hope to add a couple of new songs before Tremors next weekend. (It’s getting harder to remember the old ones!) We’ll see you at Tremors!

The holiday festivities are over and what a fun time. We started off at Crazy Horse campground (Brodhead) on Sunday and had another good time there. Thanks to Doug, Deb, and Richard, and all of their gang for stopping out. Deb – thanks again for the pretzels! The only mistake I made was not taking Monday off. After packing up, it was a 100 mile trip back to Milwaukee to work in the morning. I decided not to repeat myself and took Thursday off (today) and it’s beautiful outside! Tuesday, the 3rd in Milton, was an adventure. We managed to play 3 sets in a thunderstorm but finally had to stop as the water was draining into the pavilion. Cyndi and Jason were actually standing in water towards the end. A crash of lightning also fried our light board – we had to rent one for the 4th. No other damage than that and it still was a fun night. I drove back to Milwaukee that night so I Holly and I could spend the 4th together. We watched the parade, had lunch with the family, and then it was back up to Schilberg. The weather cooperated and we had a great 4th. Thanks to everybody who stopped up this weekend. Quite a few of the family came out and I saw a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a long time. My sister, Sheri, and husband Willie are hosting two young men from Ireland, Chris (who has been here before) and his friend Robbie. They were all up at the park and Robbie has never been in the USA before.
On a sad note, I was informed Tuesday night that a classmate of mine, Todd Algrim, has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Todd and I took guitar lessons together as grade schoolers and even started our first band – Royale Society. Check out the Jeff’s Personal Musical History blog for more info. We lost touch over the years but shared most of our childhood. This was very sad news as Matt and I had an uncle who had this terrible disease and saw first hand what it does. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and hope that someday a cure is found.
On a happier note – Matt’s birthday is the 6th. I can’t tease him about his age as I’m the older brother, but he’s getting up there! Matt is not an original member but has been in the band over 20 years now and involved more than that. He’s been our sound man (back in the 70s), rhythm guitarist, and now bass player. But even more than that, he’s been a great brother and friend. Matt has really come into his own as a bass player. He does a lot of “out of the ordinary” techniques – incorporating his guitar skills into his bass playing – that really give the band a full sound. He also keeps the fun in it and can even make me smile when I get a little moody. I couldn’t imagine playing without him. Stop out and wish a good one to Matthew next time.
Next weekend also marks the 3rd anniversary of Jason being in the band. Hard to believe it’s already been that long. Jason has been a great addition to the band. He’s given us a younger appeal and has been very involved with upgrading our light show. He also, along with Tim, does a lot of the work hauling the equipment. I’d like to say too that his “band singing” has come a long way. It’s not easy to sing over the sound of a live band behind you. His vocal power and guitar playing are always improving. Give a happy 3rd year to the “J man” next time too.
We’re back at the Countryside on the 14th. Rumor of new owners – more on that to follow. Maybe they’ll let us use the lights…Anyway, I hope everybody had a good 4th and we’ll see you at the Countryside.