The Night Shift

[Barb]

NO COMMENT

[Novel-T]

[WildcatOne]

Gonna Shake It Down tonight...Life is good...WC1

[draglist]

When I get a molecular transporter... LOOK OUT! I'll be at all the shows... But for now... bp

[WildcatOne]

We had a great gig last night, the whole show went extremely well. These people showed up to party with Willie and Mikey; they're part of the group of folks that went to Iraq for a couple of years, and they have stories to tell of their adventure. They can more than double the normal alcohol intake of an average human and still function, but it doesn't work that way for some musicians, Willie and Mikey especially. Another group of musicians showed up...before the night was done, the band had invited and hosted 3 different drummers, 3 different bass players, and 4 different singers. The drummers were of varying quality and experience, the singers were pretty much good, and the bass players were all very good. I prefer the core unit of Shakedown to play, because we know a lot of songs that can only be pulled off live by having played them many times together over a period of time and we've worked up the proper dynamics and so forth to do the songs justice. If somebody's sitting in on one of those songs, that perfect chemistry is not in balance and it can get screwed up. That aside, it was OK to have these folks play with us and I had fun. But while they were sitting in, guess what was happening out in the crowd with Willie and Mikey and their buddies...by the time they got back up on stage to play the last 3 songs of the night, they were both totally smashed beyond repair. Willie passed out during "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" by Journey...Brandi was also out there drinking with folks and she had some trouble getting her voice back after not singing for an hour or so, but she got the words out and gave it the best shot she had, which for her under those conditions is still better than the other singers put together. Me and Lynn are stone-cold sober. We have to be. We move the equipment and the people around before and after the gigs and we are the main elements of the band's music. If we got drunk during a gig, the whole scene would disintegrate and we'd lose our popularity and all our gigs. We have a reputation now, and it's important that we back it up every time we play. We're booked well into 2007 now and we're not gonna let anything screw up the momentum we have now. Anyway, it took me 2 hours to get Willie home. It's hard to move an unconscious guy around, not to mention all his stuff...drums, cymbals, gig bag, etc...but I got him back home, I appreciated the fact that he waited until I had put his whole drum kit back in the condo, picked his crumpled carcass up off of the grassy knoll next to the parking lot's handicapped space (where I parked...it's OK, it was 3 in the morning) and was in the process of carrying him inside before he finally tossed his waffles. I set him down 10 feet from the door and waited until his body emptied itself of the poison all over himself, then I said look. I have to go now, but I don't want to leave you out here. Why dontcha let me get you 10 more feet to the door here, and you can go into the bathroom right next to the front door...he said, no, go ahead...I'm OK...sorry...didn't mean to do this...Willie knew he'd ruined his gig but he really didn't mess me up other than to not be able to get his stuff together...I had to do all of that. I could have just said Screw you, ya friggin' idiot, and split from the CES, leaving him there for somebody else to deal with, but I brought him there, so as if he was part of my equipment, I carried him out of there like a bag of cymbal stands. I think he knows that this kind of BS is not my idea of how a professional carries out his business. If I was Lynn, I would have a little talkie-poo with him, maybe. Mikey wasn't near in the shape Willie was, but he took off his bass at the end of the night and threw it across the room, into the wall, and it scared the daylights out of the crowd...except for us...we're used to it now. Like I say, the destruction act is part of Shakedown lore. The hard partying, the top-flight musicianship of the band, the peaks and valleys. We played "Sweet Child O'Mine" by Guns and Roses last night on a request, we had never played the song before and we nailed it precisely as the record has it...the people who requested it were holding up their cell phones to the band, taking pictures and sending their signals to their friends in Austin, who were actually watching us play. It was a strangely beautiful night. The band rose to excellence and then half of the band collapsed during the last set...I had a long and very deep conversation with one of the guys that came back from Iraq. I learned a lot. You have to filter information because of the drinking going on, but the guy was sincere and he told me straight out how it is. He just got back. He's a big ol' boy and he's healthy as a horse, but he's got a lot on his mind and he unloaded a lot of pain. That's another subject, but overall this was one night that felt like 2 nights. Cheers, WC1

[jim sanders]

man i lead a boring life theze dayz..... great story WC !

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, Doc. Tonight I'm playing a gig with these guys. It's going to be a volume-sensitive gig at a retirement community down in Pearland. I'm going to get $145 to play from 7 till 11. Pee Wee has horns and it's a big band. I played some gigs with them back at Mardi Gras earlier in the year. They're excellent musicians and great guys. Pee Wee pays you when you show up. It's not like you have to wait around to get paid with him. If I wasn't already full-time with other bands, I'd be working for Pee Wee. He has a big following and he and the rest of his band don't fool around...they earn the dough and each guy is responsible for his own deal. I am babysitting a couple of guys in their 40s with Shakedown and I go play a gig with Pee Wee and I step back and go..."Hmmm..." Cheers WC1
http://hometown.aol.com/jerasim/myhomep ... iness.html

[jim sanders]

cool link WC.. looks like they are booked solid... I take Pee Wee is the big guy in front ?

[WildcatOne]

That's Pee Wee, Doc. He is a fantastic entertainer. His vocal range defies reality. I've heard him hit a high B over the E and G and the next minute he's growling out lowest-register bass notes like a robot, and his mid-range is comparable to any of the finest altos I ever heard (Englebert, Tom Jones, etc...) the guy is phenomenal. He drives a showroom-condition '56 Chevy 2-door, red and white. There is only one Pee Wee Bowen. I just hope I do well. I really like these guys. They don't tell me what key the songs are in, though...they just start playing...they've been doing it for so long they don't think about it, but a guy like me comes in and it's...uh...what key, man...they look at me and go "Uh..." and they just keep playing...so I have to be on my toes. They also do a different set every night. I played 2 nights in a row with them and didn't do any of the same songs either night...it's very challenging and I not only appreciate the call, I get pumped-up for the gig because it's not something everybody gets to do. The Whiskey Saints all know Pee Wee, he's their buddy...so when he called me, they all were like..."Gawww...." In the music scene around town, having Pee Wee Bowen call you to play in his band is about the same as having Knockout Talent call you to do Max Naylor's car graphics. This is something I can be proud of. Cheers, WC1

[Billy Mac]

You SHOULD be Proud of You, Cat......We ARE!!!!