Jeff’s Blog

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!

Not a bad weekend at the Countryside and thanks to all who stopped out. The big story was Saturday night as Jason had already planed a trip to Mexico and we decided to play anyway – along with a few guest stars. Jim and Debbie Millard (Frank & Co.) were out and nice to see them. That’s two former drummers (owner Rich Erdman) in the same room! We were a little concerned about having enough songs, so I made a master list and realized we’d be okay if everybody’s voice was in full force. But to help us out, Steve Peck, from the Code band, sat in and did a handful of songs. Not only a fine voice but one the best and few all-around guitar players in the area. Steve was never a member, but the Code band did similar material and he fit right in. Former member Cary Farmer also sat in and in spite of having a cold, still belted out a lot a crowd favorites. It was really fun having that combination of Rainbow Bridge back on stage again. I was quite worried about the whole thing as Jason sings the majority of the male vocals and a lot of signature songs that people expect from us. Cyndi and even Holly kept reassuring me that not only would everything work out but I’d probably have a good time as well. And of course they were right…It’s odd to think that I have a wife and an ex-wife who both know me better than I know myself. Enough on that subject. Also, not to forget and thank Tim and Trevor for all the effort making the band sound and look good. It’s a team effort and it takes all of us to make it work. Now it’s weekend off and time to work on some new tunes. Then it’s back to Tremors on the 18th & 19th. Stop out and say hello. See you there!

Talk about a short week! Here it is Thursday night and we’re already playing again tomorrow. Due to the weather, I left work early on Friday afternoon to get ahead of the storm – only to be cancelled. No big deal though as we pretty much expected it. Saturday night was okay and we had a good time. I don’t recall a lot of the details except that it was still cold! New Year’s Eve was a fun night and thanks to everyone who brought in 2008 with us. Cyndi, Bryan, Jason, Bob, Holly and I, along with few other friends went out to eat beforehand and had a nice time. Speaking of eating…Matt has an infectious tooth that is giving him some trouble. He’s waiting for the swelling to go down before it can be dealt with. I hope he’s okay soon. Last night (Wednesday) Kaj drove over to Milwaukee and we went to the blues jam. It was fun and we both did a lot of playing but it turned out to be a late night. I got home about 2:00 – had to work today – and Kaj (had the day off) drove back to Beloit. Anyway, it’s right back on the horse as we’re at the Countryside this weekend. Stop out and say hello and happy 2008. See you there!

P.S. In the new picture of the day, the girl on the far right is Sheri, Matt’s older and my younger sister.