Jeff’s Blog

I have to give a lot of credit to the Wolf’s Den for advertising the band. It wasn’t the turnout they’d hoped for, but the owner was happy with the night. We were treated well and had a good time. There were a number of people that stayed the whole night, and the turnover was steady. All said, it was a nice place to play and I hope they have us back. I really debated to bring this subject up, but I’ve heard rumors that I’ve been accused on this site of badmouthing the Countryside, which could not be further from the truth – if you read the posts. Here it is again: it’s just business. The Countryside wants a certain format from the bands, and it doesn’t suit us. Rich runs the bar the way he thinks works best and I respect him for knowing what he wants – it’s just not our format. The Back Bar books hard rock bands and we don’t play there either. It really bothered me to be accused of playing dirty – not my character or my style.  ‘Nuff said. We’re off this weekend and then it’s a return to the Rock County Fair, which is always a good time. I’m still doing pushups and plan on visiting the National Guard booth for the 5th year  in a row. I have three t-shirts and a football to show for my efforts, but the real reason is my deep respect for the military. We have some new songs in the hopper which I hope we’ll get on the list soon – I had to stop practicing to take time to write this! Holly and I went to see REO Speedwagon at the Waukesha County fair last night and they were great – even played “Son of a Poor Man.” Yes I’ll admit that I secretly wanted to audition after Gary Richrath left. Anyway, thanks to all who stopped out to the Wolf’s Den, and we’ll see you at the fair!

We had a great weekend at Tremors and thanks to all who stopped out. I feared it was going to be slow, especially with Riverfest going on, but we all were pleasantly surprised. This weekend was Jason’s 5th anniversary with the band – finished 5 and into 6. I was told the 6th, but his first job was the “Shake the Lake” was is dated 2004. Either way, the time has gone fast. I’ve said it before, but adding Jason has given the band a younger appeal and made a big difference in the band’s following. Along with that, the lighting and internet streaming of Trevor, and the equipment upgrades of Tim, Trevor, and Jason have kept the band worth seeing. It amazes me! Also noteworthy was Matt’s job had him on call Saturday night. Had his pager rang, he would’ve had to leave. Matt paid a co-worker to take company calls, bribed his daughter, Kami, to answer his pager, and paid former member Denny Wayne to be at Tremors and ready to fill in. He said he lost money overall, but – and I’ve been waiting to say this – had his “basses” covered! Fortunately, he was not called and played the whole night, but thanks to Matt and all involved for the efforts to see that the band was able to still play. Next Saturday has us returning to the Wolf’s Den on Rockport Road. It’s been a long time since we’ve played there but I remember it being a fun time and the room acoustics were good. Stop out and say hello. We’ll see you there!