The Night Shift... Continues!

[jim sanders]

cool news John.. JTP was here last night and asked about you...

[draglist]

Hi John. We missed you at the DLNs last week, but everyone I talked to agreed that the best way to see WildCat1 would be to go down to Kemah and watch him play while eating huge shrimp and drinking beers! Toss in a trip out on the bay wth my friend Steve and his boat and what a weekend that would be... Now where's the number of my travel agent! bp

[WildcatOne]

My wife travels enough for all of us...I don't know how she does it, but she gets around. She's been coast-to-coast, top-to-bottom and all points in between in the last year. She only pays for airport parking, too. I've got one foot nailed to the floor, myself. I'm coming off a 20-day-straight work schedule including gigs. I have Friday night and Sunday off, but I'm trying to catch up on graphics work that I'm (as usual) behind on. I had to redo the Pee Wee Bowen front page because damn near half the guys in the picture aren't in the band anymore...this time I just put Pee Wee up there. He approved. We have a keyboard player coming out Saturday night at Jack's Garage to try out, hope he fits in and can play. I already made my last offer to Pee Wee to move me over to keyboards and bring in a guitar player who could play circles around what I do, but he said no. You stay there. I don't want you stuck behind a keyboard. You play guitar, that's it. I think Pee Wee likes my performing style on guitar. I play all the notes (mostly the right ones) but I have a tendency to have fun when I play, and it catches on with the crowd...Pee Wee has emphasized all of my good points, and even though I often feel like it makes me look better than I really am, the proof is in the gig schedule and the packed clubs and parties we play, the responses we get and the ongoing series of compliments we get. A guy came up to me at Club 21 last Friday night out of nowhere...he put his arm around me and pulled me over and he said in my ear: "GREAT band. GREAT band." and he walked off. Then this cute little lady came up to me and she says "Are you John Bockelman? " I said "Yes, ma'am, I am." She said "Are you the same John Bockelman that's from Galveston?" I said "That would be me, yes." She says "You may not remember me, but I was Jo Ann (and she said her last name, I try not to put last names in posts)...we went to St. Mary's Cathedral school together from kindergarten through 7th grade..." We looked straight into each other's eyes. Then I snapped...it was Jo Ann! And here we are standing in the shadow of the bell tower of the church we grew up in together...50 years ago...that was incredible. Turns out she's married to a guy I knew from high school, he came over and we hung out and talked for a while, it was great to see them...we talked about all our remaining contacts and friends, I introduced them to Debby, it was wonderful. They might come out to Jack's Garage Saturday...Anyway, tell JTP I said howdy, Doc. Life is good. WC1

[pro70z28]

Cool story WC.



It's a Small World After All.

[draglist]

Very cool, John. Thanks. bp

[WildcatOne]

We played at Jack's Garage last night; apparently we are the last band to play there, as Jack is shutting it down next week. Too bad...it cooled off in there, and it was a great night. Jack gave me a Jack's Garage hat, it's similar to one of Mike's hats. The Phantoms were all there, too...Sonny brought his blown '55 Big-Block Chevy and did a burnout...a safe one...in the front parking lot. He ran 50 feet with nothing and nobody in harm's way. Then Mike fired up White Lightning ('36 Chevy) and did a flame-thrower demo, as did Jack with his '49 Merc. I brought George and folks hung around and checked him out, our sax player Clem didn't know about George and he told me that I made a very wise investment in acquiring him...George is in great shape and he looks terrific...a lot of folks told me that, I was proud...There were 2 groups of ladies there from some high school reunions and they partied and danced...I did the "crowd walk" a few times during "Bo Diddley" and "House Is A-Rockin'" and each time, I got "felt up", big-time...I just kept playing; it's part of the gig, and Pee Wee wants me out there...the crowd loves it. After I got through the crowd of ladies, I was 25 feet away from the mic, and this cowboy was dancing with his wife where I was. He leaned over and yelled "Go, Johnny, Go!" We had fun. That's the whole idea behind the Pee Wee Bowen Band. Everybody have fun...Pee Wee brought in a keyboard player, Hank, and he was great. Great guy, and he played trumpet and keyboards at the same time...a very talented and easy-going dude. He played mute-trumpet phrases and keyboards during "St. James Infirmary" and it sounded so New Orleans, for a minute I would have sworn we were down in the French Quarter...We're going to have him back, and I thought it was a great addition, with a great fit. The 2 trumpet players we had for the last several months aren't in the band anymore and we went a week or so with a very trimmed-down unit. We got through it, but we all could see the need for another instrument to fill in the holes. This guy came in and he has a feel for our stuff. I hope we can work out a schedule with him and move forward with him. We have to keep an eye on our gig schedule because the economy is affecting a lot of clubs...they're starting to close because people aren't going out anymore like they used to, and the ones that are still open are starting to want to pay the bands less because they aren't making ends meet with smaller crowds showing up. The recession is being felt in all areas of society at all levels. We all understand that, but we also all told Pee Wee that ANY gig he gets at ANY place, ANY time...we'll be there for ANY amount of pay. As the band turns. Cheers, WC1

[Rapid Randy Baker]

Man I love reading your stories WC,,,Rock On buddy

[draglist]

I love reading them, too, but I always get mournful because I wasn't there! Go, Johnny, GO! bp

[jim sanders]

WC... JTP says thanks... and we both read your latest posts.. great stuff.. i offered JTP to type a reply to you from here but he was busy and had to be somewhere before dark

[WildcatOne]

I just received some unsettling news. Jim Shortt has been in the hospital for a month now and the prognosis is not good. Without going into a lot of detail, he had heart surgery, developed a staph infection, got put on a ventilator, has been sedated for weeks...I ask for your prayers for this great man. He helped me more than anybody ever did in my music career...not just me, but everybody...his kindness and positive spirit have been a uniting force in the music community of the Bay Area and beyond. I hope he pulls through. WC1