Weekend Gig Notes, #1: Coming into The City from my gig in Marin county via the Golden Gate Bridge, I immediately rolled down the windows and let the returning fog into the car so I could tell it how much I missed it. It didn't have its usual zing - probably too tired from dealing with the heat wave like everyone else - but it was still a treat. We shared a laugh as I deliberately drove over the ball caps that the fog had smacked off the heads of tourists and landed them in the roadway (the hats, not the tourists).
When I got to the toll booth I learned that I was to pay $7.75 for the privilege of coming home. Apparently I was in such a state of bliss in my momentary relief from the heatwave that I didn't find the “I've lived here all my fucking life so I get a break on the toll” lane.
So, just curious: automate the toll taking process with cameras and computers, and the toll price goes up? Perhaps we could keep toll prices lower for residents and natives by charging tourists an extra premium for a “fog-less photo-op crossing” toll.
Just a thought.
Weekend Gig Notes, #2 (While The Cat's Away…): at last night's Seducers gig at Bird and Beckett, band leader and pedal steel master Joe Goldmark was absent on a well deserved vacation, so Mitch Polzak, Hank Maninger, and I carried on in his absence. Mitch and Hank do many trio shows of their own leading some of the finest musicians in the Bay Area, so there was plenty of material to choose from to put on a great show, which they did easily.
Though I'd guess I know somewhere around 75% of their material, it quickly became apparent that Mitch and Hank have been trying out some new tunes and ‘extended arrangements’ in their trio work; things that may not necessarily work for a more traditional quartet like The Seducers. But being well versed as a “substitute drummer” whose main task is to “follow the leader(s)”, I was surprised but game for the challenge.
Billed as a night of “country honky tonk music”, I am fairly confident most bands playing country music aren't doing 8 minute versions of country classics with multiple time signatures and extended solos. Of course, Mitch and Hank did their great versions of standard country classics, but it sure was fun dropping into fourth gear and seeing if you could make the turn!
At the end of the night, Hank looked at me and said “Mitch Mitchell plays country!” I don't remember if I ever told Hank that Mitch Mitchell, drummer for Jimi Hendrix, was my biggest influence when learning how to play, but it was the best compliment he could have given me (assuming it was a compliment!). We all laughed and I responded with “Chris Squire plays country!” (Chris was the bass player for the progressive rock group “Yes”). We shared another laugh when we remembered how we “lost the 1” a few times but kept on going until we got it back, which served as proof that we were creating something on the spot; not the usual approach for a “country band”.
Of course, we all missed Joe and his wonderful playing that makes a Seducers show special, but a good time was had by all as the country band stretched out.
(Don't worry Joe, everyone stayed until the end of the show, and no one asked for their money back.)
-KO
