The Night Shift

[jim sanders]

[jim sanders]

WC.... I JUMPED OVER to this thread to let you know that brother John will have his movie done in the next couple weeks and a copy will be sent to you as soon as it is done... I haven't seen/heard it in final as of yet .....

[Gator]

Thanks, fellas...Big City, the Kingfishers before that and the Citykings after that hit the high spots in this town. I'm back out there with Pee Wee Bowen now doing the pro circuit and making more money in the last year than I made in the 30-plus years before this, times two, but back then the music and the shows we played were mostly based on stuff we wrote, and our stage act was what really got us booked into those high-profile gigs. I brought that same style into Pee Wee's band; the exact same stuff, and applied it to the classics that they're doing and it clicked. I've been playing about 110 shows a year for the last 4 years. As of about 5 months ago, I've turned down all other offers and have concentrated on playing with Pee Wee only. This had a lot to do with having a full-time day job that requires me to get up early and be on call to come in when I am needed on weekends...I had to simplify things and stay focused on the two deals I have that I make real money at. I don't need "exposure" gigs anymore and I'm not looking for another gig to stretch out my musical imagination. The only other project I have is Blastula, Nick's band, as equipment and "road" manager, and I'm going to put a studio around them when I have enough dough to pull it off...lots going on still, but not half as much as it used to be when I was being half as productive. I do the math and it all adds up...simple is good. This deal works. My friends have told me to write a book. I tell them go to DragList.com, Dangerous Bill's Cafe Noir, The Night Shift...that's my book. Well, I gotta run. Putting a new air filter in Ludwig today before driving to Galveston later to play a gig on Seawall Boulevard at the Victorian...Pee Wee's high school reunion. Should be a major hoot. Life is good. Thanks again, WC1

Great 'Cat......

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, we had our moments this weekend...Friday night we played at a private party in Bayou Vista, on the North side of East Galveston Bay. The water comes right up to the building (it was an upstairs gig). It was a guy named Henry's 80th birthday. He and his wife, Sylvia, are Bayou Vista charter homeowners, they've been there from the beginning of that subdivision that includes water slips for each house. Free food, open bar, and the band was paid quite well. They had it all decorated in tropical gear...the candles inside the paper bags bothered me, but it all pretty much went off without a hitch. The crowd got looser the later it got. Funny thing was it was held in the MUD building of Bayou Vista. Municipal Utilities Department...I never would have guessed until I pulled up and they had a full-race Charger with a hemi (I think) all painted up in cop drag outside, and the police department was downstairs. I hung out with a cop down there all night on my breaks and he was a great guy. Not a jerk, which was what I expected, small-town cops can either be OK guys or not OK guys...he was a good guy. I would have hung out with him either way...right before the elevator was a metal bench bolted to the floor with 2 pairs of handcuffs hanging from it...a "holding facility" before they pull criminals in front of the judge in the next room...I thought that was a nice touch. I asked the cop about it and he said "would you like to try it on for size? I can arrange for a weekend stay at our resort if you'd like..." he was smiling...I said well, no, I have other plans, but thanks anyway, I might take you up on that one of these days...he said "Yes, you just might..." Sylvia had been a singer in her younger years, so we backed her up on "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey" and she danced and sang and acted out the song, close to the arrangement, but we had to make some adjustments to her while she sang it, other than that, she brought the house down. Last night we played the Victorian in Galveston for the 1962 LaMarque High School reunion, and it was very nice. I can't say the Victorian is the most upscale resort in Galveston, in fact, Loren and I took stock of the situation and decided we were actually playing in a glorified Motel 6. There were some truly tacky appointments, and it was not a well-kept facility. It was merely adequate. After playing at some of the classiest joints in town, you see the difference as soon as you walk in. However, the atmosphere of the evening was wonderful. These people all know each other, grew up together, and there was a very loving and caring vibe. If anybody has followed the NFL for a while, I might add that Larry Bulaich, the older brother of former Colts running back Norm Bulaich was there, he was in that graduating class and he was all-everything offensive tackle. He looked great and he did the alligator when we played "Shout"...great folks there...The band sounded great. We turned down for this gig, and you could hear everything. A horn player was added, giving us 2 trumpets and a sax for the horn section, and the guy was great. Our meals and drinks were paid for (I only drink water) and one guy came over and we talked for a while about my sound. He said I sounded great. Not blasting out raw noise, rather I play as melodically and as sophisticatedly as possible on every song. Pee Wee (Hugh) Bowen is a graduate of this class. He had some great stories to tell, and he introduced each of us to the crowd and he pointed out that each member of this band was hand-picked, not just for their musical ability but for their character and dependability. (This is where my concerns about Ludwig have come in...can't break down, that is not an option any more...) and we played better last night than I've heard us play in a long time...not that we don't play good, but we play loud a lot and when we do that, the sound turns mono...it becomes a mix of one sound. Last night we carefully played at half the volume and you could hear everything. I am having serious hearing problems as I've said, and although I can't really hear people talking to me anymore (it's about every 7th or 8th word that I can hear and I string them together and fill in the holes in my mind so I can make a reasonable response), I could hear the horns, the keyboard and guitar mix, our vocal harmonies, all of the subtleties of Ron's drumming, and Pee Wee's dynamics. The rest of our gigs, it's a big wash of loudness...strange world but very real for a deaf guy who plays in a band...Debby's last day at her job was Friday. Her boss sold the company. She's been out a lot and I haven't seen her very much, it's either her or me who is not here. She wants to start her own business as an elderly companion. I told her I thought it was a great idea, she'd be doing something she'd enjoy a lot more than the office drudgery most of us have to endure...she could use that AA+ personality and take old ladies out and have fun with 'em, go shopping, go to the doctor, whatever they want to do, and she'd be perfect for it. I told her to take a CPR course, get insurance, get bonded, have a disclaimer, etc, but some folks have said that'd be good but not necessarily essential, but I just want her covered "just in case". Anyway, I'm rambling. It's been a great month so far, things are looking up. Good luck to Debby, I hope she can land on her feet. Meanwhile I'm working what turned out to be 2 jobs. We need it all. Life is good. WC1

[pro70z28]

Great report as usual WC. Hope all goes well for Debby and her new adventure.
Cheryl gave up her job at St. Joe's this week. She decided to just concentrate on her job @ Morris. (She had the same position @ both places, maternity receptionist & both part time). Since Morris Hosp. learned she was more available now, she' already picking up more hours there, so it's working out great.
One door closes .... another opens. I bet Deb will be great at whatever she does.

[draglist]

Hope your hearing gets better, John. That sucks. Sounds like a great gig. Good luck to Debby on her new deal. That sounds perfect for her. bp

[WildcatOne]

This was another 2 nights of wild and crazy gigs. Friday night, we played at T-Bone Tom's Backyard in Kemah, in the lighthouse district. The Phantom Cruisers showed up with their beautiful hot rods (Pee Wee's '56 Chevy is down with a major engine problem; he's switching to a 2 4-barrell setup...with 65 grand sunk into this car, he said he's not going to pinch pennies anymore, he's going for a high-performance deal from now on...he's sick...they're all sick...Jerry dropped a brand-new 350 crate engine into his '39 Ford last month, but nothing fit like they said it would...he had to spend a couple thousand bucks getting everything in there, but it's in and it sings...he complained about the deal but he said it was worth it in the long run. He's a member of Goodguys. He isn't going to Bakersfield but he will be at the divisionals coming up...but I digress) It was a guy's birthday and they reserved 50 seats and they threw a wild party with lights all over everybody...Pee Wee's group also had 30 people, the place was packed, and wouldn't you know it...this one chick with the birthday party had the hots for me...a tall blond, quite healthy and fertile...she was dancing right in front of me, moving suggestively and gesturing to me to come and get it while I twanged my Telecaster...Pee Wee turned around to me and said "Big Bad John's got it going on TONIGHT, Baby!" He loves it when things get a little (but not too much) beyond reason...we all do...she was shaking and bumping and grinding at me like a machine...so I look past this chick and there in the middle of the crowd, sits my wife. Watching. She had that peeved/pleased look on her face...which means, look but don't touch...I know that look; I've been seeing it for 25 years...I kept playing, of course, but I stepped back just a little, ya know. Debby showed up for my birthday, actually it was BP's birthday, but it seems our birthdays are gradually becoming one 2-day party. Anyway, the 'Bone was packed and the night was perfect. The chick kept her distance during breaks, and I was let off the hook from having to politely explain to her that I'm happily married and not on the make. I would have had to do that even if Debby wasn't there. First, I really am not interested in other women...I still love, honor and cherish my wife. I look, I admire beauty, I enjoy seeing them having a good time and letting their base instincts out, because they need to do that, everybody does, and when they do that it just tells me I'm doing what Pee Wee is paying me to do...and secondly, why trade short-term (like, one night's worth of) pleasure for long-term misery? It's not worth the trouble. I also believe if I did go over and pull her out to the parking lot for a few minutes, it would change my deal with that band. I'd become expendable. Pee Wee selected each of us very carefully...no dopers, no slackers, no cheaters, no idiots, in other words. We're all dependable, stable and committed to making that band sound great. If I started fooling around with women at gigs, it would not only screw up my life, it would probably screw up the band as well. It would give us a reputation as a bunch of womanizing a-holes; a tag that is very hard to shake off, and undeserved because professionals don't do those things, even if they're single. There are other times for personal business and a gig is not the time or place for it. We are paid to perform the music and that's the deal. Start getting into the women and a whole world of trouble will come up...like maybe her husband, with a .410 shotgun...or your old lady with a pretty blue revolver containing a sweet little bullet just for you...one of my best friends had an extramarital affair a couple of years ago. He got caught (that always happens, doesn't it...) and it was a very messy situation for a while. His wife, who is also one of my best friends, took him back...I asked Debby, what if I did something like that? What would you do? Would you divorce me? She said "No. But I promise you, you would wish for the rest of your life that I would..." But I digress...Last night we played at a lady's 40th birthday party at a big spread down in the boondocks, outside of Manvel in Brazoria County, on a back road waaaay out there...but when I finally got there (the map Pee Wee gave me was useless. It isn't laid out like the map shows, that's how far back this place is...including a train sitting there with nobody on it where I had to cross the tracks...had to drive 3 miles up the road to cross the tracks so I could double back and get back on the road but I decided to get there from the other direction, using dead-reckoning, I made it to the place...) But when I got there, they had the place roped off, a parking attendant directed me to the band's parking spot behind the garage, lit by a neon '57 Chevy sign...big, beautiful place with a revival tent set up outside with a gambling casino in it and a 25-foot-long barbecue buffet, a patio encircled with coolers packed with ice-cold beer, an open liquor bar, the garage had an inside restroom with running water, soap, hand towels, and behind that was a big warehouse with sailboats and motorboats and a giant RV parked in it, and so on...these folks have some dough to spend on this lady's birthday. Pee Wee walked in and laid 2 c-notes on me right off the top. We set up and played. They went crazy. The last 2 sets, they went insane...screaming, hooting and hollering; the whole place became an orgiastic mass of humanity and physical melting pot...they were louder than the band...the ladies who were acting prim and proper when we first showed up were now in an R-rated Conga Line in front of us, doing the jungle boogie. This music does something to them, as I am sure the open bar helped bring to the surface, and during "Bo Diddley", I duck-walked out into the crowd to play the guitar solo...I was mugged...one set of hands slipped into my shorts from the back side...other hands were all over me...and they were glued to my body while I twanged away...I thought "I better get outta this situation before they pull my pants down..." and I backed up to the band, but they didn't let go...my mic stand went crashing into the drums, I ran into Loren and knocked him down...Pee Wee let out a rebel-yell scream and the whole place erupted into the Battle of Crimea, and the band kept playing...he pulled me over and yelled into my ear "THAT's what I'm talkin' about!" and a chick jumped up on him, then another one, and it was out of control for a minute there...they howled and screamed for more, more, more...we had to back up. Somebody turned on the lights, everything eventually settled back down. For a few minutes last night, I saw a complete breakdown of conventional behavior in an otherwise affluent society...I made $317 in 2 nights twanging my guitar with the Pee Wee Bowen Band and I got to enjoy witnessing some of this town's prettiest ladies let their guard down and get down to the core of their trip with our band...almost game-time, gotta run. Thanks for reading The Night Shift. Life is good. WC1

[jim sanders]

looks lika another great read WC ... gotta make a lap in the 50 ford, stock up for the afternoon, and will reply later

[draglist]

What a great freaking read. Man, I wish I was a roadie with the band! bp

[Rapid Randy Baker]

Man, WC is living the Rock-N-Roll---Drag Racing Life!!!