The Night Shift

[WildcatOne]

That was one of the best nights I ever had as a musician. Instead of this being a "retirement community", it is actually a gated subdivision, with folks in their 50s, 60s and 70s living there...not an old folks' home kind of thing. The auditorium we played in was fantastic. It seats a couple hundred people, and the place was decorated to the hilt with Pee Wee Bowen stuff...the black and white shoes, the checkered flags, and shiny silver (chrome) trim on everything. They all (200 people) showed up in 50s clothes and most of the men had black and white shoes...and they ate us alive. The joint was like Buckingham Palace. Huge stage, built-in lighting system, plenty of room, and the band was in top form as was Pee Wee himself. Some of the songs I remember we did were "Nadine", "Crying" by Roy Orbison, "Elvira", a Little Richard medley (they gave me the keyboard solos), "American Trilogy" by Elvis, "Blue Suede Shoes", a Fats Domino medley, "Georgia" by Ray Charles, "St James Infirmary", some Otis Redding, some BB King, "Unchained Melody", "Proud Mary" a la Tina Turner, and several slow-medium groove tunes I just don't remember every one we did, but that place didn't just get up and dance, they went crazy over Pee Wee and they danced in unison...the Stroll, Line dancing, jitterbug, waltzes, the twist, the Watusi, the Hully Gully, they know all those dances and they did 'em all together, man it was awesome...this band can hit a groove and ride it on down like nobody's business...I couldn't stand still...and I got paid $150 for the gig...when I showed up...I told Pee Wee...I'm booked with Shakedown for the rest of this year into next, but if anything happens, I'm available...just let me know. He said cool, and thanks for doing the gig, all the guys like me and we play extremely well, seamlessly, together...man. I didn't want that gig to end. We had one groupie come up while I was nibbling on a chicken wing, I suppose she was around in her late 60s. Me and the drummer, Frankie were sampling the hors d'ouvres...she was jumping up and down to us like a cheerleader and she had her hands on us, squeezing and kinda feeling around, ya know...I looked at Frankie with a look that said "Well, what do ya think?" He leaned over and confided "Not bad, but there just ain't enough time..." We grinned and went back up and played the next set...Frankie had intestinal surgery a couple of months ago and they had a benefit for him last month out at Katie's...he told me all the years of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, and it was the FOOD that got him...he shook his head...but he's back playing and doing fine again. Actually, the guys in Pee Wee's band are all clean and sober...this is a job...but we all talk about "the old days" and have some laughs...dang, what a night. 4 people came up and asked me about Draglist.com and I told 'em about it. I have the sticker on the front of my keyboard...we will have some folks checking us out this week...Cheers, WC1

[Billy Mac]

GREAT report, Cat..........Wish I coulda been there to enjoy it with ya

[jim sanders]

wow sounds like a blast from the past ! great song list. also the gated community deal sounds like a great place to live

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, Billy and Doc...the icing on this cake is that Pee Wee is a member of a local street rod club. He has a red and white '56 BelAir post, showroom condition (the "Body By Fisher" logo is still on the floorboard when you open the door), with an L-88 Corvette engine that's been modified "with a cam"...no specifics given...it pulls a Coca-Cola trailer that he puts his PA in. The only thing I didn't quite love about his car is the wheels and tires. He's got low-profile wide tires on it with the spoke mags. It'd look great with stock wheels and tires or some centerlines or something, but it's got boom-car treads. A couple of cars showed up from his club and I hung out with them and talked about the '29 Model A coupe with the guy that built it and owns it. He wanted to know all about Dralist and I told him all about it...he'd fit in great with us here...the car has a 468" Chevy engine with 2 4-barrels on it and straight pipes, it's a stock-height roof, the car is yellow, immaculate, with lighting effects, a chrome radiator shell, big street tires...a classic. He runs 9.70 ets with it at around 138. The other car there was a '40 Ford tudor sedan, ghost flames, blown engine, didn't see what make the engine was...some chick was crouched on the curb next to it like Willie was doing Friday night, so I kept moving...but the wheels were beautiful. spiral triangular pattern polished mags and the car had a rolled and tufted interior. Both street rods had excellent lighting effects and were polished to mirror-like perfection. Heck, I'm still there in my head. It was too good to leave. Those folks know how to live, man. Cheers, WC1

[draglist]

Sounds like a fantastic show, Cat. You are so versatile! bp

[Rapid Randy Baker]

Unbelievable WC, you life and stories just carry me away. Thanks for sharing the inside scoop on your life with us!

Rapid {leading the dull life} in Waukee

[wheelzman]

Sharon and I took in a car show at Wooster this weekend on Friday, Sat. I took her out for her birthday to Joe's Crab Shack then church today followed by the Nascar race this afternoon. I thought I was finished with the weekend but here we go and you took me to a wild music fest, then to a wonderful party of old memories (Georgia On My Mind, ala high school days) and a few street rods thrown in for good measure. Looks like Pee Wee's place would be a good place to hang your hat for a while Cat man. Ah yes, Pee Wee and the Cool Cat. As you say, Cheers!

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, you guys for digging the story.
It's great to be here. Cheers, WC1

[pro70z28]

Great stories WC. Got any pics. of the '56? My first car was a '56.

[jim sanders]

yep since i was born in 56 i have a lot of 56 chevy pics hanging in the 1-man shop.. also have a neon 1956 clock but it has a Desoto on the pic