The Night Shift

[WildcatOne]

To show the kind of guy that Pee Wee is, he gave us each a c-note out of his own pocket when we showed up...he didn't tell us that he hadn't been paid yet. We found that out later. Then when he got short-changed at the end of the night, he came outside and guaranteed us all that he'd have it all there for us next Saturday at Lone Star. Major headache situation for Pee Wee. This caught him off-guard, and he was really hurt...he was a prizefighter when he was a younger guy, and he was known for being quick with his fists when he got ripped off...local hospitals made good money off of guys that stiffed Pee Wee Bowen...if you ask me, Mr. Bojangles is lucky he didn't start off this year with raw hamburger for a face. But Pee Wee's mellowed (a little), and this was a typical stunt that managers will pull on bands...it's just that nobody expected this kind of treatment, not from that place, on this kind of night, where they clearly made a fortune off of us. The way Pee Wee saw it, we're too good of a group. We'll just move on...Thanks, guys. We'll be fine. Doesn't that guy realize that this stuff gets around? Cheers, WC1

[WildcatOne]

We played at Club 21 in Galveston last night. It's my favorite club gig, not just because the place is so beautiful (it has an atmosphere. A personality all its own.) but because the crowds we get there are so awesome. Our keyboard player skips the Club 21 gigs. He has his reasons, and I could go off on a tangent about that subject, but all it means is I play a lot more aggressively there and I comp a lot, but nobody has come up and told us we sound thin. I just make up for the absence of the other chording instrument and keep it together in the mix. Downtown Galveston is a beautiful place, it's old...VERY old...Victorian at the latest, Dickensian at the oldest...the eye candy at Club 21 is the best anywhere. Where those ladies come from, I have no idea, but they show up by the dozens to dance. There's no stage, and they're right in front of us, inches away. We do good boogie, and they return the favor, expressing their primal urges to us. Often after a particularly exciting number, the band guys just turn to each other and go..."Wow"...the head bartender there has an ongoing joke with me, because I look like Martin Mull...actually Martin Mull looks like ME...poor guy...but he told me last night his wife was there and she saw us for the first time. He asked her, does anybody in the band look familiar to you? She said the guitar player looks like Martin Mull, but he's not as funny...I told him well, my writers are on strike right now. Hopefully soon, I'll have some new material to bring in...we had a good laugh. A couple of things stayed with me besides that from last night. The waitress talked to me while we were on break. She asked me where we've been playing. I said "Uh...everywhere, I think..." She told me we pack the place every time we play there, and that's something no other band has ever done. She said it's just great music, man. It's what people want. The other bands that play there are self-indulgent, proselytizing jerks...I was kind of taken aback by her bluntness. But she continued, and told me if they established us as the house band, it'd be fine with her (it'd be fine with me, too, but we're quickly becoming a reginal act). She said our selection of material is perfect for that place. She couldn't believe all the places we've played at. I told her the club gigs, and I also added that we've played just as many private parties, which pay twice what we make there. She surprised me with not only her compliments but her intelligence. Most waitresses I work with (we are workers...taking care of the customers is our job) haven't really come across as very deep thinkers. Whoever her boyfriend is has a good thing going. I went back inside to tune up (my between-set ritual includes getting back to the stage (except there's no stage there) 5 to 7 minutes early and tuning my guitar, making sure it's in perfect A-440 before we start the next set) and Pee Wee walks up, shakes my hand and says "I want to tell you something and it's not BS. I don't BS anybody. You just did "Born On The Bayou" better than Fogerty does it. You can SING, baby. When I retire, this will be your band..." I didn't know what to say. I said "Well, when you retire, I'm retiring, too." He said "We'll just keep going and have fun. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you being here." It's always good when the bandleader comes up and pays you a compliment. We were playing that gig without our keyboard player, and he's an excellent musician. I had to do what I did. It just turned out to be a positive thing. Pee Wee was approached by a club owner who just bought out JuJu's. He hasn't renamed it yet, but he wants to talk business with Pee Wee. They're going to work out a deal...this came in at a perfect time, since we scratched Bojangles off of our calendar, know what I'm saying? As Gator said, when one door closes, another one opens...

I gotta run. Meeting a former colleague for Fajitas in a while, his office is down the street and we will discuss business and the future.

Tomorrow Blastula is playing at Fitzgerald's in a battle of the bands. Wish them luck...they're great, and they can actually play their instruments...they also have a good degree of humility and positivity in their attitude, which goes a long way on that scene...some of the kids I've met who are in bands have an attitude, but not these guys. I won't let 'em pull the rock star crap on me. The ones that do don't know who they're talking to, but Blastula knows me and they know better than to jerk me off. I have no doubt that they will make a good impression. They show up with a certain quiet confidence in their manner, then the music speaks for itself. I admire that in a band. Off and running. Cheers, WC1
http://search.cityguide.aol.com/houston ... -108968139

[jim sanders]

great read John !

[Rapid Randy Baker]

WC, you are the most incredible guy! I love reading your posts and thanks for sharing with us.

[jim sanders]

i always read WC's post twice

[draglist]

Everything is going so great, John. What a fantastic story. bp

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, guys. We've been playing some nice shows lately. Last Friday night, we played at the Balinese Room in Galveston. It's a ballroom, bar and casino that was built by the Maceo syndicate (Mafia) in 1923, 600 feet out in the Gulf of Mexico that is connected to Seawall Boulevard by a covered walkway. I'm attaching the URL to their site. Lots of history there. Anyway, it was the Mardi Gras kickoff party for the Banner Group. Over a thousand people were crammed into that place (it'll hold 3 or 400) and they went crazy. The band is gaining widespread popularity and we're playing slicker than snot on a doorknob. This was a significant moment not just in my musical career, but in my life. My grandfather played there during prohibition; his band was a regularly booked group. My grandmother was the hat-check girl at the front door at Seawall Boulevard. When the cops pulled up, she stepped on a button, alerting the club that a bust was on the way. The cops would run the 600 feet to the club, but by the time they got there, the slot machines, blackjack tables and roulette wheel along with all the booze was safely tucked away in the secret compartments and they were having a prayer meeting out there...life was good...I had never played the Balinese Room, but thanks to Pee Wee Bowen, I finally got to bring it all full-circle that night. It was a fantastic night for the band. Here's the URL to the Balinese website.
http://www.balineseroom.net/
We played a private party Sunday, it was a low-key deal at the KC Hall in LaMarque, but they paid us quite handsomely for our services. I was talking with Pee Wee at the gig and he told me he has a lift back in his garage...I asked him if I could come over and do an oil change to George some time and he said I can use the rack any time I want...he got himself an old VW last week, a '69 with a lot of upgrades. He's thinking about selling it and getting an even better one he found up North, but for now he's delighted with his old Bug...we plan to invade the next Phantom Kruizers' run with our Bugs...
I was looking at my record collection today and I decided to transfer it to digital. I went online and I found this:
http://www.digitaltechnews.com/news/200 ... vinyl.html
Looks like the right stuff to me. With 6,000+ albums, it'll take a while, but it'll be a good start to a big project. I don't plan to copy all of my records, but the important ones, yes. I have a lot of compilations that include thousands of SONGS. I will defintely copy those and create an archive for them. Nothing fancy, just keep the music. I plan to find a professional evaluator and see about selling the vinly some day. My original intent was to start a bidding war between Japanese billionaires who collect American records and refuse to lose face in a contest like that. In a perfect world, with the rarity and condition of my collection, I could pull in enough dough to retire if that happened. At least a good half of my collection is virtually impossible to find and that increases the value. But before I seriously try to sell it, I'm saving the best of it on DVD. Band rehearsal coming up in a couple of weeks. We've got some deals in the works that sure do sound sweet if they happen. If not, I'm cool with playing in town. I came home from work today on time for the first time since I don't know when. 6 hours after the Balinese Room gig in Galveston, I was back at GRI in the Houston Heights, working and I got all the stuff done my boss needed me to do. I worked all day there by myself and got it all done. I went to bed a little early Saturday night, but that's OK...been real busy up there...so tonight I can kick back before the NAPE convention stuff comes in this weekend or next week...everybody have a good Thursday evening...looking forward to the Super Bowl. Cheers, WC1

[Rapid Randy Baker]

Very Very Cool WC,,,,,you are really living the dream buddy. Congratulations!!!!

[jim sanders]

[pro70z28]

Cool Deal WC