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Gig Updates
December 17, 2011-Saturday Mountain State Brewery: Thomas, WV The Thomas/Davis area of west by god is always a place I wanna be……Harry, Vinny & I drove down in da morning on a cold but pleasant wintry day……….local boy, Jared, joined us on tubs……..as he has for da past couple years dat we been doin’ these shows……..this was Vinny’s first hi lonesome mountain show with us so I enjoyed watchin’ him watch da locals………da fire was burnin’ bright when we took da stage n’ started ‘em up wit “Lazy Bones”, “New Blood”, “Game On”, “It Is What It Is”………lotsa folks on da dance floor lettin’ it go………”Over Said and Done” …..”Tequilla” brought da crazy outta da locals n’ I started t’ feel real at home…..”Look What You Done”, “I Hate A Nickel”…..we did a mess of cover tunes tonight…….”You Better Move On”, “Into The Mystic”, “Walkin’ The Dog”, “Round n’ Round”, “Good Hearted Woman”, “Not Fade Away”, “Like A Rolling Stone”, “Ring Of Fire”, “Brown Eyed Girl” …….Vinny sang “Run Run Rudolph”……”Hoochie Mama”……..three long hot sets of meaty bar room music……did “Black Sheep Blues’ as a duet with Jared on drums for da encore……..I’d play for these folks anytime cause they let da monkey go……….almost heaven?............y’ dam right December 9, 2011-Friday Sub Alpine Club: Turtle Creek, PA Luv da Creek….used t’ stick ma toes in it……used t’ shop at da ole 5 n’ 10 back in da sixties…….now I’m in my 60’s………dam……….”Mercy Mercy” came down pretty slick as the opener with Larry on keys n’ sax lettin’ ‘em know we got soul……right……….”New Blood”, “Lazy Bones”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “It Is What It Is”………nice buncha’ simple folks come out to rock wit us....n’ us simple musicians really appreciate their support, like I always say, ”your presence here tonight gives us a reason t’ live”….and I ain’t eva told a lie……..oops I just told a lie…….”Nothin’ To Lose”, “Over Said and Done”, “The Tree”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”……Vinny sang “Run Run Rudolph”…..”Somethin’s Cookin”, “Black Sheep Blues” ……….Betty Lou’s niece, Katey got onstage t’ help sing “Ring Of Fire” n’ I could see her mom, Kimmy recordin ‘ da show……so I did a couple dance routines t’ try n’ git Katey t’ shake it up……….did “Shit House Rat” n’ da Ratman started t’ drop trou……..by da end of da night rat n’ I shared a dance on da floor………trou dropped further….”Game On” was kickin’ tonight, Larry n’ Harry was singin’ da BG vocals for da first time……….Mike Flo did a nice job on da tubs all night …….he’s learnin’ da ropes ‘bout rollin wit da uncrowned king………..speakin’ ‘bout rollin’……..got t’ mention da one paper kid…… December 3, 2011-Saturday Hop House: Greentree, PA Harry, Brice n’ I started it up with “Boilermaker” then a cool take on “It Is What It Is”………I shouted out Shari Richards name n’ she got onstage n’ ripped “Look What You Done” straight into “New Blood” into “Million Tears” & “Victoria’s Secret”……we did da ole Otis Rush thang “All The Love”………did Neil Young’s “Down By The River” n’ I tried t’ sing da high harmony part….coulda’ hurt myself…slide guitar master, James Docherty was in da house n’ got up t’ play “I Hate A Nickel”……he just ripped it up….. Larry Siefers showed up t’ blow some sax on “Shotgun”, “The Blue Come Blowin’ In”……we did a take on “Rich Kid” wit Larry blowin’ da solo at da end that came off well………..I handed my guitar to James Docherty again so he could take us all t’ school on da ole classic “Goin’ Down”………”Stiller Nation” hit da spot……..
November 26, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA We hit wit “Lazy Bones”, “New Blood” n’ “I Hate A Nickel”……same as earlier this week, just tryin’ t’ establish some consistency with this lineup,,,,,,,,,,Mike Flocari has been doin’ a good job of learnin’ this gig , it ain’t an easy job…..we just make it look easy …….on da good nights………”Nothin’ To Lose”, “Wonder”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” ……”It Is What It Is” has been earnin’ it’s keep……..Harry saw Larry’s flute in Larry’s van n’ coaxed him into bringin’ it onstage, just t’ piss me off…….so we had a couple of laughs over the dam flute n’ Larry even blew a little………..truth is, he’s been rippin’ shit up on sax ……bringin’ da pain n’ da passion to da gig….Vinny sang “Run Run Rudolph” n’ got big applause……..”Friend Of Mine” soared……..set 2 kicked wit “T-Bird” n’ “Mercy Mercy”…..then “Somethin’s Cookin”………young Shawn Mazzei was hangin’ with his ole man Jeff n’ we got Shawn up t’ rip “Walking To My Baby” n’ “Lovedog”………..Katie Simone got up t’ sing “I Wish It Would Rain” wit Vinny Q……she then sang “Dead Flowers” ……we closed it all out with “Burnin’ Up”….. November 23, 2011-Wednesday Frankie & Georgie’s Pub: Pittsburgh, PA Got started ‘bout 9:30, we have been tryin’ to start our bar shows earlier…..”Lazy Bones”, “New Blood”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “Nothin’ To Lose”………had a nice mix of folks in da house………”Somethin’s Cookin” came off well with Larry Siefers rippin’ an old school organ ride……”Friend Of Mine” found a few sweet spots with Larry blowin’ sax……..one fer fun, “Stiller Nation” hit home………saw Bobby Joe n’ she’s expectin’ her and Frankie’s 4th child….life is goin’ on, ain’t it………”It Is What It Is”, “Shit House Rat”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”…….”Look What You Done”…….Donny Dread got up on “Smoke Two Joints” n’ did a vocal take that was totally different than anything I’ve heard him do with us before…….Donny is a very talented guy………..”Black Sheep Blues” is comin’ round……Vinny sang “Run Run Rudolph” n’ got it goin’ pretty slick……….”Little Things” gave Harry n’ Mike Flo a shot t’ tighten up da rhythm while I did some slippin’n’ slidin’…….”Lovedog”, “Burnin’ Up”………”Game On” is startin’ t’ turn heads in da crowd, guess it’s somethin’ bout da ole school rhythm slappin’ against dem modern lyrics……happy happy thanks. November 11, 2011 Friday R-Bar: Dormont, PA The tiny stage prevented us from playin’ 5 piece so Larry took the night off……..this neighborhood joint was packed n’ folks came t’ rock……”Lazy Bones”, “New Blood”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “Somethin’s Cookin”…….Harry was doin’ a good job of keepin’ drummer Mike Flocari in line so I could concentrate on entertaining da peoples………”It Is What It Is” ………don’t know why but I’d been thinkin’ ‘bout an ole tune, “Friend Of Mine” all week, so I whipped it out. “The Tree”…….. Saw Crash n’ Christine, brother Ron n’ Patti………did “Stiller Nation”, “Little Things” …..had Katie Simone come up n’ sing “I Wish It Would Rain” with Vinny Q….it came off real well…….Harry got a request for “Pot’s n’ Pans”……did “Black Sheep Blues” with just me n’ Mike Flo playin’ brushes……..”Pittsburgh, PA”, “Smoke Two Joints”……..had a blast jammin’ at this watering hole…….Vinny sang “Little Queenie” and I closed it out with a solo take of “Cornbread” November 5, 2011-Saturday Baltimore House: South Hills, Pittsburgh, PA Haven’t played in this room in a long while….back in the 90’s I think……up, up, and away in da fish bowl high above the peoples………we played this show four piece, Vinny Q on guitar and Mike Flocari on drums….this is da first time dat Mike played wit us……”Lazy Bones” is always a great way t’ git shit rollin’…..it gives me a chance t’ size up da house….and tonight, it gives me a chance t’ feel out Mike Flo on tubs, right?......a buncha tunes came across well in the 2 hour first set….”I Hate A Nickel”, “Game On”, “Look What You Done”, “New Blood”, “Over Said and Done”, “Minimum Wage”, “Stiller Nation”, “Somethin’s Cookin”….. did “Black Sheep Blues” with Flocari smackin’ da brushes ‘round…did “Cornbread” ….ripped “Smoke Two Joints”………Larry Siefers showed up early on in set 2 & blew some serious saxophone unto the peoples……”The Blues Come Blowin’ In” & “Wonder” both lit up da joint…….saw some friendly faces I ain’t seen in a minute…….faces of da southwardly hills……..I like dat………bobby moore come up with a couple a’ dave’s n’ a Billy, wanda, dougie n’ da scotchman………how bout lil’ pete…….hung wit his daddy n’ his beautiful grandaddy…… October 21, 2011-Friday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA We had a blast, straight up from da git…..one of them nights that just rolls out…..makin’ it look easy, dats what we did on this evening…..”Lazy Bones”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Boilermaker”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “Nothin’ To Lose”, “Pittsburgh, PA” …….talked a bit about our trip t’ Nashville t’ da folks in attendance……and somehow worked our way into “Stiller Nation”….”America’s Son”, “The Tree”, ….Vinny sang “You Were Always On My Mind” which got over well so I thought Harry should do “Pot’s n’ Pans”…..Brice sang “Minimum Wage” after I did “Shit House Rat”…….”Mazeroski Way”, “Son Of A Gun”…..set two hit with “End Of The Line”, “Heat Of The Night”…….we did this show without Larry, our keyboard n’ sax player so it was a unique approach that we took t’ make it come off well…….did “Black Sheep Blues”, a new tune I been workin’ on….just started t’ blow this thang n’ Brice jumped in on a cool drum beat n’ Harry n’ Vinny just watched it all happen……”Sick n’ Tired”, “Rich Kid” …did “I’m A Man” for Higgy who was in da house…..”Wonder”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “It Is What It Is”….. I did a freestyle rap of “Cornbread” that caused longtime friend Judy t’ yell out dat she was gonna leave da room cause she thinks “Cornbread” is da worst song I ever wrote…..I thought “Lovedog” was da worst song I ever wrote…..got Katie Simone up t’ sing “Dead Flowers” n’ she helped us have a special moment with “I Wish It Would Rain”….she sang backup n’ Vinny sang da lead…..it came off real well …as did this entire evening…… October 20, 2011-Thursday Steel House: Station Sq Pittsburgh, PA This was a rainy dreary evening dat we made da most of……….it felt great playin’ with the whole hammer five piece rock n’ roll orchestra…………”Mercy Mercy” was just what we needed t’ feel t’ find da mojo necessary t’ git dis big ole dinasour rollin right…..right?......saw Ron da wrestler, Chuck n’ Sandy…..stopped t’ say hello n’ picked some grub off their plates…that’s an ole trick that I picked up off da Fishman back in da 70’s…..saw Dave n’ Carol…..saw buddy PG Tom…..met Micky n’ Ricky….didn’t make dat up………did an improve shuffle in G dat kicked wit Larold blowin’ tenor sax, I called Larry Siefers Larold over da mike… kinda liked it…. October 13, 2011-Thursday The Bunganut Pig: Franklin, TN The audience was eatin’ dinner while we was throwin’ it out there…..I was checkin’ ‘em out n’ their feet was a’ tappin’ & their heads was a’ boppin’…..very cool room to play in ….we set up on da hard wood floor n’ started t’ peck away at these nice unsuspectin’ folks with insane banter n’ tasty tune after tasty tune……”It Is What It is”, “Wonder”, “I’m A Man”, “Comin’ Home”, “Over Said and Done”, “I Hate A Nickel”…….Brice & Harry both played and sang very well tonight…..I guess this week in Nashville got us comfortable playin’ at a softer volume………..”Shit House Rat”, “Sick n’ Tired”…..Harry sang “Pot’s n’ Pans”…….”Somethin’s Cookin’ “, yea..and I think it’s a bunganut oinker……gonna have t’ come back n’ do this again…..oink oink….my good man….. October 12, 2011-Wednesday Ri’chards: Nashville TN On my vocal monitor was a sign that read “if you didn’t write it, don’t sing it…” I guess this is truly a song writers club….I met an upright bass player who said he did some shows with me back in the 80’s up in NYC at The Continental Club n’ Nightengale’s……. think he said his name is Mark Miller…..he sang a song he wrote when playin’ with The Loose Hinges called “Stay” that was very cool…….club owner, Richard got up n’ started t’ play an amplified box along with the Hinges……he joined ‘em on another tune on da conga drums…….didn’t get the name of another act on the show put I did enjoy the yodelin’…….”It Is What It Is”, “America’s Son”, “The Tree”, “Mazeroski’s Way”, “Comin’ Home”, “Wonder”,……..Richard joined us onstage t’ play harp n’ rub board neck tie…….then proceeded to do a kick ass sales pitch for da rub board neck ties that he has on sale……..”Game On”, “The Morning After”, “Somethin’s Cookin’ “, “Stiller Nation”…..after the show Richard played us a song that he wrote called “Arizona Rain” dat was killer…….legend is…Jesse James used t’ hang in these parts……outlaw t’ outlaw, I could feel his spirit in da wind…… October 11, 2011-Tuesday Commodore Grille: Nashville TN Lady name a’ Debbie Champion has been runnin’ these songwriter nights for quite a while in da Nashville area…..saw 6 or 7 writers perform before I went on……..I got up with two other writer’s , Pat Anderson from Virginia and Tony Logue from Kentucky……..the atmosphere was a lil’ sterile for my likin’ but I was glad t’ be on da show….did three tunes n’ got outta dodge….”Wonder”, “It Is What It is”, n’ “Comin’ Home” October 9, 2011-Sunday Piranha’s: Nashville, TN As soon as da Stiller game was over I was on stage talkin’ crap to da stiller crowd dat was rockin black n’ gold gear…..proudful……..”Stiller Nation”, “Pittsburgh PA”, “Somethin’s Cookin’ “, “Comin’ Home”, “I’m A Man”, “Wonder”, “I Was Blind”, “The Morning After”………had some fun with a few strange cover tunes “For The Good Times”, “You Better Move On”, “Tiger By The Tail”, “All The Love”, n’ dat ole Billy Swan number, “Lover Please”…..think I broke three guitar strings in, ‘bout an hour…. October 8, 2011-Saturday Piranha’s: Nashville, TN Smack dab in da middle of da tourist district downtown Nashville….lots a’ crazy folks runnin’ every which way…….”Game On”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “Over Said and Done”, “Mercy Mercy”, “Slow down”, “Into The Mystic”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “New Blood”,……..I was enjoyin’ the moment playin in da three piece format Brice, Harry n’ I we’re feelin da freedon n’ da power of less can be more….right?....”Ring Of Fire”, “Like A Rollin’ Stone”, “Smoke Two Joints” ……some guy kept belly achin’ t’ me dat his ole lady dumped him for his best friend so I let him sing “Folsom Prison Blues”…..n’ he did a decent job…for a luv sick fool……”Walkin The Dog”, “Little Things”……I was doin’ a solo performance of “Cornbread” n’ some nut fell out his chair onto da side of his face…..talk ‘bout face first….right?........ October 6, 2011-Thursday 12th & Porter: Nashville, TN This is a very, very cool showcase club, not to big not to small, industrial strength lights n’ PA, great stage……Larry Siefers on keys n’ sax, Brice Foster on drums, Harry Bottoms on bass joined me onstage for my first gig ever in Nashville Tennessee….pretty cool , Huh?.......hit with “Boilermaker” t’ let ‘em know what dey was dealin’ wit, then took ‘em t’ school wit “It Is What It Is”, “Pittsburgh PA”, “Comin’ Home”, “Mazeroski Way”, “The Tree”, “Shithouse Rat”……..thought we should do somethin’ from yesteryear so we smacked “Nothin’ To Lose” around then “Wonder” left a glow on da room…haunting…….”The Blues Come Blowin’ In” closed out da first part of da show……..cause….the show was just beginning…….we then brought guitar playin’ badass, Shawn Starski onstage…Shawn made his bones tourin’ wit harp legend Jason Ricci for years……”I Hate A Nickel”, “Game On” n’ “Somethin’s Cookin’” flew by in a blue haze as we all took advantage of da opportunity t’ play with a smoker like Starski……..Harry stepped down n’ Dan Eubanks a tourin’ pro bass player with strong song writer tendencies grabbed da bass n’ Jeremey Holt joined in on guitar……..we then did two wonderful Dan Eubanks tunes “Gallatin Road” n’” Cerro Gordo County”……Dan then grabbed an acoustic guitar n’ Harry got on bass as Dan did me the honor of singin’ “America’s Son”……made me proud………Dan jumped back on bass as Nashville singer songwriter Johnny Phillips took center stage t’ sing his tune “Blame It On The Roses”………..luv it! Johnny then did another from his catalogue, “Forgiven”……..Jeremy Holt was findin’ some sweet spots on da guitar….Vera Lynn Bush then got on stage t’ sing a song she’d wrote with Johnny n’ another writer who was in da house….can’t recall his name, sorry ‘bout dat……”Faster Than Angels Fly” was a duet with Vera n’ Johnny’s voice rubbin’ together just right…….Harry grabbed da bass n’ laid down da pavement as Vera ripped into “Million Tears”……Dan provided da low tones as Vera Sang another co-write with Johnny n’ dat under celebrated songwriter dat was in da house……”When It Rains At Graceland” came off real well…….young Tristan ”T-Bone” Smith from da Ohio valley, though currently residing in Cashbugh Tennessissippi took center stage next n’ gave us all hope for da new generation…..T-Bone played some rippin’ guitar n’ found an expressive voice on a tune I wrote a few years back “Pennsylvania Rain”…..I was just layin’ back blowin’ some rhythm stuff checkin’ out dis kid what got some magic in ‘em……young Mr Smith then did his thing t’ “Poor Little Rich Kid”n’ really got his point across as a vocalist and as a guitar pickin young buck…….we closed out da show wit “Amazing Grace”….tried t’ let everybody stretch a bit….had a blast playin’ with a buncha’ great folks……ain’t gonna forget my first gig in Nashville…..gotta thank da folks dat showed up t’ play…ya’ll did me right……thank ya……. September 24, 2011-Saturday Harvey Wilners: West Mifflin, PA We come out swingin’ with “Game On”…….I changed da key, made it a whole step higher…….”How You Like Me Now”, “Boilermaker”, “Heat Of The Night”………I was startin’ t’ git a feel for this room….special request for “I Hate A Nickel”…lovely………”Shit House Rat”, “T-Bird”……..did a couple cover tunes, “Walkin’ The Dog”, “Good Hearted Woman”…..”Over Said and Done”, “Lazy Bones”…..got a great reaction to “Stiller Nation”, “Smoke Two Joints”……..Vinny sang “You Were Always On My Mind”, the ole Willy Nelson hit……luv dat….ole bud, Bobby Kellor was in the house so I got him up to sing “Honky Tonk Women”…..”Nothin’ To Lose”, “Lovedog”, “Burnin’ Up” from the ole testament………”Comin’ Home”, “America’s Son” from the new testament…. Closed it out with “Rich Kid”……..& did “Round n’ Round” for the encore………the first set tonight was 2 hours long……startin’ t’ get my bands mind right….. September 19,2011-Monday Tracy Vucich Memorial Golf Event: Meadowwink Golf Cour, Murrysville PA I don’t usually write gig updates for unadvertised shows….. this is an exception……after a great morning on da golf course with Moondog, Larry Siefers, and three other dudes that I got to know while we was smackin’ da ball around….needless to say there was a lotta laughin’ goin’ on……I found my stroke ‘bout half way thru ….it felt good……..after a great dinner all the musicians that golfed today & some that didn’t, got together to raise some hell………Chuck Moore started things off with intro’s n’ raffles n’nat…..he’s a big man with a loud voice, I’m a little man with a loud voice……..Mike Vale took center stage to start da show wit Johnny Angel on drums, Tom Valentine on bass, Johnny Rebel on steel, Donnie Garvin on guitar, Bob Prince n’ Denny on keys t’ do an arrangement of “America The Beautiful”……..I sang “Game On” and tried to keep da stage volume down cause it was crankin’ got Harry on bass n’ Stutso on drums, n’ Larry Siefers on sax n’ keys t’ support Mike Vale singin’ “Wonder”, which he just cut for release on his new solo album…..I then introed “Mazeroski Way” as ole bud Bob Albenze took over on bass guitar n’ Mike vale got Maz t’ come n’ listen. Maz was also playin’ golf at the event……..so I sang da tune and in da middle of da song I started cryin’ cause I started thinkin’ ‘bout my dad when I looked out n’ saw Maz smilin’……after it was over Maz came up t’ shake my hand…….I’ll never forget that moment….never….. we blew up “I Hate A Nickel” then got Johnny Angel up front to sing…..Stutso took over on drums……”My Girl” came off like we rehearsed it n’ “Stagger Lee” also gave Johnny Angel da shot t’ put his voice on display…..by this time Kenny Blake was startin’ to stand out with his melodious way…..”Stormy Monday”, “Mercy Mercy”, Stutso sang “You Go Your Way”………”The Blues Come Blowin’ In”……..Bob Robertson, the ole first baseman from da 1971 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates had been sittin’ front n’ center the whole show and yell’s out, “How ‘bout some Elvis”…….so I ripped into “Burnin’ Love”….n’ I saw a wild look in Robertson’s eye & kinda gestured for him to come on stage, so he graps a mike n’ starts bein’ Elvis…….he then said he wanted t’ sing “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, so we did it…….Stutso ripped “Three Times Your Fool” &”Work Together”…..Donnie Garvin plays some very cool guitar……Bob Robertson started shoutin’ ‘bout some Conway……I said bring it….so we did “It’s Only Make Believe” Mike Vale, Johnny Angel, & I sang “I Shall Be Released”……….and then we raged thru “Shake Your Moneymaker”……this was a major blast……n’ I got t’ hang with Maz…….cool, huh? September 17, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA Our drummer for this show was ole buddy Mark Stutso who now works regularly with The Nighthawks out of Washington DC…….we had a good time playin’ together again…..Harry was all over Stutso’s groove….had him surrounded…….”Lazy Bones”…… I broke a string about 30 seconds in…….switched over t’ slide t’ give Skibo time t’ change dat hi E……….”I Hate A Nickel” come down nice……”It Is What It Is” got some good reaction, gonna have to play it more often…….Larry shined on “Mercy Mercy”……ripped up “Somethin’s Cookin” n’ hadn’t done dat tune in quite a while……..Stutso sang “You Go Your Way” n’ “Victoria’s Secret”……….”I Was Blind” hit hard…….”Boilermaker”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Over Said and Done”………I started to speak da words to “Cornbread” n’ decided t’ just play it for da first time……man it’s finger lickin’……..Stutso sang “Million Tears” n’ “Three Times Your Fool” n’ folks let us know that they felt it…….da groove Stutso was droppin’ on “Million Tears” was delicious…..Harry sang “Pot’s n’ Pan’s” first time in a long time, came off very well…..did “New Blood” n’ sang it myself did “Stiller Nation” n’ got da animals shoutin’…..………..Moondog got up towards da end of da night n’ sang da ole Merle Haggard tune “Are The Good Times Really Over For Good”……we closed out da night wit me n’ Mooney doin’ “I Shall Be Released” for our bubby, Ivan Killowatt, who passed away this week out in LA….he was a very talented kid ……and he will be missed ……… September 10, 2011-Saturday Legacy Lanes: Pittsburgh, PA Under the big top tent it all came to pass…….this was a blast…….lotsa’ laughin’…..“Game On”, “How You Like Me Now”…..we played a little, we laughed a little…….”Shit House Rat”…..folks was arrivin’ with smiles on their faces ready to let da monkey go…….so we did in fact let da monkey go…..”Boilermaker”, “End Of The Line”…….Brice n’ Harry was pavin’ da way n’ I was soarin’ wit da eagle………Larry lit it up on “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” n’ “Wonder”……..”Hoochie Mama”…..”Nothin’ To Lose”……..we kept countin’ down da hours till our Pittsburgh Stillers met da Baltamoronic Pigeons……so we ripped “Stiller Nation” to the delight of all Stiller fans in attendance……….long time Pittsburgh sax player, Johnny Smooth, joined us for da second set…..”Mercy Mercy”, “Comin’ Home” ……saw a bunch a’ folks….Bob n’ Pam….Scotchie n’ Wanda, Lovely, Jessica, Frank n’ Kathy who told me their take on disfunction………it’s all good….missed Dave n’ young Zack…….if ya ever feel like your missin’ out on the hi points of low life….join us under the bigtop……….for some hi level low life livin’………priceless…….. September 9, 2011-Friday Frankie & Georgie’s Pub: Squirrel Hill, PA Kicked it wiht “Game On” n’ got a groove rollin’…..”How You Like Me Now”…..”Comin’ Home”….. da crowd was a little light so I was callin’ a different kinda set……..”Over Said n’ Done”……”High Times”, “Stiller Nation” was well received, guess it’s gittin’ t’ be dat time of year…..sent “Rich Kid” out to Frankie, been doin’ dat for years……..”Heat Of The Night……”End Of The Line” kicked set two “Little Things”, “I Hate A Nickel” …….Donnie Dread got up n’ did an improve on “Smoke Two Joints” dat fell somewhere between singin’ n’ rappin’ ……Donnie Dread is a very talented man ……..”Mercy Mercy” stood out tonight …saw Angelo from da Dirty Charms, ole bud Tommy Osh, big goo n’ gator, Nick da gentleman greezeball…….Bobby Joe….sang Bobby Joe’s wedding day September 8, 2011-Thursday Carnegie Heritage Festival: Carnegie, PA Nice stage……Nice PA……… da crowd was startin’ t’ fill in……..nice intro by Zeke…………and just as I started t’ stroke da opening lick of “Boilermaker” it started t’ rain……..I’ve learned one thing this summer….real music folks don’t let a lil’ rain bother ‘em……..”How You Like Me Now”, “Heat Of The Night”……..sent da next tune out t’ Terrible Tom who passed away n’ thought about ole Terrible n’ some of da things dat made ole Terrible a very cool guy……….can’t count da times I heard him shout out, “play “Nothin’ To Lose”………..n’ so we did……..”I Hate A Nickel” gave me da shot t’ blow some slide work…..”The Blues Come Blowin’ In” n’ “Wonder” gave Larry Siefers da shot t’ blow some sax work…..”Comin’ Home”, “End Of The Line”… luv da way me n’ Vinny’s guitars weave together on dat tune……gotta say, Harry n’ Brice we’re layin’ down some smooth pavement to ride on….……..don’t usually do a lazy groove on a show like this but I thought I’d try “Game On” ..it came off pretty well……”Pittsburgh PA” struck a chord wit da folks in attendance……. Closed it out with “Little Things” n’ “Burnin’ Up”…….this was a blast… second year in a row that we’ve been invited…….just as we played our last note , The Ignighter’s, da band dat I first saw at age 14, was goin’ on a couple blocks up da street………got a chance t’ see a couple tunes before we had t’ take off….man they sounded great……. September 4, 2011-Sunday My sister’s place: Monroeville, PA Can’t remember how many years we been doin’ it, nine or ten maybe………..this year, my sister Ann, decided to make it a bit more of a public event………..started off with just our crazy family and grown a little each labor day weekend over da years………..got to see my Aunt Rita, my cousin Norie, cousin Jerry, Awilda, Katrianna, Gino……………we kicked it real lazy like wit da slow draggin’ “Game On” ….“How You Like Me Now” had a real good vibe to it……Larry Siefers took advantage of the feelgood groove that Harry n’ Whitey was layin’ out on “Mercy Mercy” on both piano and tenor sax…..”Over Said and Done”, “Comin’ Home”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder” ……..right about now I outta mention dat all da TV stations been sayin’ dat a hard rain a’ gonna fall……….well, a light rain was startin’ t’ fall……..didn’t seem t’ bother folks anyway……just started t’ play the “Just Because Polka” & thought about singin’ that song with my father just a few years ago, then I just started t’ sing the Sue Thompson pop hit of da late 1950’s “Norman” ……….Shari Richards took center stage n’ started t’ rip…….”Let The Good Times Roll”, ……….as I intro’ed the next tune I pointed out my niece, Rena, who I wrote the tune for when she was born, “New Blood”……..”Million Tears “, “You Go Your Way” ….Shari sounded great on one tune after another……Shari sat down as did Vinny Q, & Whitey Cooper….. cousin, Pete Oddo got up on drums n’ banged out “Wipeout” as we tried our best t’ cop dat ole surf feel of yesteryear…. Whitey took center stage to sing “Great Balls Of Fire” and a very well received “Shama Lama Ding Dong”…….that hard rain I mentioned earlier was now startin’ t’ fall……we took a break n’ let it rain a while……..saw my niece Tara & John n’ the three bears, JP, Markie, & Johnny…..……..had t’ lick up some a’Rron & Lynn’s MEAT…..dat’s right I used capitol letters…MEAT….git ya some…….da rain slowed down n’ we fired up “I Hate A Nickel”….yea man things was feelin’ right …took a second t’ listen over t’ Vinny on guitar n’ he’s playin’ some real tasteful nuggets……….Shari stared up right where she left off, rippin’ “Little Things” n’ “Three Times Your Fool”……..da rain come back hard, we sent “Smoke Two Joints” out to da Mick….RIP…..saw Porky ,Sissy, Wayne, Peggy n’ her date,” the most interesting man in the world”……….yea, he was there….ain’t no tellin’ who might show up at my sister’s party…… September 3, 2011-Saturday Narcissi Winery: Gibsonia, PA HOT HOT HOT…..n’ HUMID HUMID HUMID…..”Lazy Bones”……”This Ole Train”……..this was Shari Richard’s day, she was HOT HOT HOT……..”New Blood”, “Minimum Wage”, “You Go Your Way………we was all sweatin’ but it didn’t seem t’ matter cause da groove was flowin’ n’ we was makin’ it look easy……I was gittin stupt n’ started t’ recite da lyric’s t’ “Cornbread” n’ got everybody t’ laughin’……”Million Tears”, “Three Times Your Fool”…………..I sang “It Is What It Is” n’ “I Hate A Nickel” ….we copped a take of “All The Love”, dat ole Otis Rush tune n’ cooked it up pretty slick……….two tunes dat really stood out on this afternoon were “Little Things” n’ “Rich Kid”………Shari is startin’ t’ sound more n’ more convincin’ when singin’ my tunes…..LUV IT…… August 27, 2011-Saturday Park House: Northside-Pittsburgh, PA Harry and I were workin with a first time drummer tonight, Crash McCracken, cool name huh? “Lazy Bones” set sail in this small but very cool Northside tavern followed by “Good Rockin’ Man” and “Look What You Done”. Ain’t played it much lately but “Over Said and Done” lit up da house den we pushed “This Ole Train” both songs from da “This Ole Train” album as was “Good Rockin’ Man”. “Shithouse Rat” was da first of a bunch of newer tunes “Stiller Nation”, “Comin’ Home”….led the way for the first sighting of da tune that’s so new that we didn’t play it . I just recited the words, kinda like a white trash rap…..”Cornbread” was very well received…….”Today I Stepped In Something” came off well as did “I Was Blind”……Set two rolled along rather nicely…….”T-Bird”, “Pittsburgh, PA”, “Sick n’ Tired”, “Wonder” ….saw a mess a’ folks…..Mark n’ Megan, Mark n’ Chris, Garth, Moon n’ Riff……… “Playin’ In A Rock n’ Roll Band”, “Burnin’ Up”, “Rebel Rouser”, “Smoke Two Joints”……yea man, we made da most of da moment on dis summer eve………word…….
August 26, 2011-Friday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA Nice crowd early in da dog house………Larry Siefers
couldn’t make this show so we hit four piece with ole bud Whitey Cooper
on drums instead of Brice Foster who also couldn’t make it…….we kept it
loose n’ sloppy, just da way daddy likes it…………and so, with da gentleman
Harry Bottoms on bass, Vinny Q on guitar, Whitey, and yours truly
nipples da clown, we got down t’ bidnit……”Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll
City”, “How You Like Me Now” August 13, 2011-Saturday Foggy Goggle: Seven Springs Resort-Champion, PA This glorious evening high in da mountains was just that, glorious……..we used a unique lineup for this show ….Harry on bass, Larry on keys n’ sax and Brian Palmer on drums along with your’s truly, Little Big Mouth….that’s right……”Lazy Bones” felt good kickin’ this thang, Larry laid down a nice backdrop for this guitar instrumental to shine over…….”Mercy Mercy” gave Larry the shot t’ blow some horn & fire up da soul starved peoples…….”This Ole Train” fell into “Hoochie Mama”, “Comin’ Home” faded into “I Hate A Nickel”……….saw a mess a’ folks I ain’t seen in a coon’s age …..John n’ Jess from ole Swissvale days…….Higgy was gittin’ jiggy……..’bout dis time, folks was startin’ t’ gather…….”The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”…….”Lovedog”, “Burnin’ Up” ………”Game On” is doin’ its own thang……..”Little Things” opened set 2 with a wicked grove……Larry sang “Iko Iko” …….Harry worked extra hard tonight holdin’ Brian together on da tunes dat he’d never heard……….got a couple requests for “Sick n’ Tired” ……….this was a cool event…..I felt like I was playin’ in my own back yard…..except there was a ski lift right over my head……. August 6, 20011-Saturday Thunder In The City: Meadville, PA This Meadville is a real decent small town……..I luv da way it feels, like a picture of middle America……..that’s how Meadville feels to a bum like……me, over here…right?.......I did a live radio shout out with the very cool Dave Hannahan of COOL 101.7 that went real well ‘bout a half hour before we went on.......the rain never came………..Harry was talkin’ ‘bout some bar he found……da Neon Moon…..I think he said……Rockin’ Rich, longtime local radio fave gave us a great intro, and away we go…..”Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun” …..a little boy, ‘bout 5 years old or so, approached the stage wiht a toy sword in his hand so I used my guitar to have a sword fight with him……….I think da locals liked dat……”The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”……..we was startin’ t’ get da folks t’ understand da ways of what it is dat we do…right? “I Hate A Nickel” whipped a groove on this unsuspecting mix of bikers, rockers, and just plain ole small town folk…..my kind of peoples……….”Pittsburgh, PA”, “Heat Of The Night” ……hammer droppin’ time….so we drop “Nothin’ To Lose” n’ now it’s startin’ t’ make sense to da whole joint, dat, we didn’t come ‘mup ‘er t’ pussy foot around…….”End Of The Line” lit ‘em up, “Burnin’ Up”, “Rich Kid”……..we banged around some Chuck Berry ‘for we sailed home, “Around n’ Around” got to some swingin’ jus’ like a bell a’ ringin’……….can’t recall da last time we played Meadville……….but I gotta say, it sure felt like home on this hot n’ sweaty summer evening…….. July 31, 2011-Sunday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA Tonight’s show celebrated the life of Ron “Bird” Foster the fabulous drummer/singer who played on the Pittsburgh rock scene thru the 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s, and in the Orlando, FLA area since the early 90’s……..saw tons of folks…….Ray & Paul from Swissvale Music, my brother Art, Fred Delu, Joe Santavicca, Jackie Keer, Lou da head, Don Czaplicky, Bob McKeag, Frank Czuri, Billy Price, Gary Beloma whose father was gifted, Eddie Smith, Tony Maggio, Janet’s Brother Chuck n’ cousin Debbie……………we took the stage n’ busted up some “Boilermaker” then rocked some “Heat of The Night”…………..we had Whitey Cooper playin’ drums, Harry on bass, n’ Larry on keys n’ sax………”The Blues Come Blowin’ In” poured off da stage all over da peoples…….thought I should talk a while so we tracked a simmering “Amazing Grace” while I spoke…….I was tryin’ t’ make a point ‘bout how talented Bird Foster was, so I said that if you replaced Ringo Starr or Charlie Watts of da Beatle’s n’ da Stones with Bird Foster…..it would have been an upgrade for those bands…….we closed our set with a blistering take of “Nothin’ To Lose”…
July 31, 2011-Sunday La Casa Narcisi Winery: Gibsonia, PA Blue sky up above… we grooved thru “Lazy Bones” with Harry on bass n’ Brian Palmer on drums………”This Ole Train” started to play itself so I got wit it ………Shari Richards took center stage n’ we hit “Teeny Weeny Bit” then followed that with “Look What You Done”…….it took me a while t’ git it goin’…..we haven’t been doin’ many gigs where I play all the solo’s………if ya wanna keep yer tools sharp, well, ya gotta git in da deep water……….Shari was rockin strong, Harry n’ Brian was lockin’down n’ I was smilin’……a harp player name a’ Sandy joined us for da 2nd set……I sang “Comin’ Home” n’ “Million Tears”…..Shari ripped “Million Tears”, “New Blood”, “Minimum Wage”……we got young Rickey, just turned 14 yesterday, up t’ play guitar on “Johnny B. Goode” n’ “Walkin’ To My Baby”…….this is a nice kid who got a real feelin’ for the guitar……….”Victoria’s Secret” n’ “Three Times Your Fool” lit up da last set July 23, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA Da house was fillin’ up n’ Moondog called in t’ tell me t’ git my ass onstage………….I was stallin just a little cause I knew that Larry was on his way……..thought we’d try something different so I started up with “T-Bird”….as soon as da band kicked in, I knew we had a tuning problem so I cut the tune off n’ started to bullcrap wiht da crowd while da guys got our tuning problem sorted out…………Larry showed up and started to set up his gear so I spoke with da folks a while longer…….”This Ole Train” got us goin’ then we went right into “Shit House Rat”…………da house kept fillin’ up n’ after our rocky but seamless start I was ready t’ put down da whole hammer……….”Boilermaker”, “Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”, …….”Nothin’ To Lose”…..came drippin’ of da stage like some kinda hot lava………….”Son Of A Gun”, “Heat Of The Night”, “America’s Son” …………..I called Jimmy Adler up onstage n’ he joined us on guitar for “I Hate A Nickel” and “Game On” which I sang this time…………all da way from San Francisco, harp player n’ blues singer, John Nemeth took da stage wiht his bass player, Smokey, drummer (can’t recall his name), Larry Siefers on keys, n’ a beautiful twenty two year old Kansas City girl name a’ Samantha Fish on guitar…….this line up kicked nicely………both John n’ Samantha sang with very soulful voices…………when Samantha sat down, John’s regular guitar player, AC Miles got up n’ offered great supportin’ guitar work for John’s traditional approach to da blues………Ron Yaroz from Erie PA took center stage next n’ blew some rapid fire harmonica n’ sang da ole Sonny Boy thang “Help Me” with me, Harry Bottoms, n’ Brice………..got a couple teenage up n’ comer guitar guys up, Zack n’ Sean…………..Jill Simmons sang “Chain Of Fools” & John Nemeth come up t’ sing with her…………we got AC Miles to come out da back room to do his thang wit a guitar n’ a voice……..AC got some game…………great night at da dog house…………….
July 23, 2011-Saturday Pittsburgh Blues Festival: Hartwood Acres Pittsburgh PA Heat up in the 90’s on this sunny afternoon………..I talked about dthe late great Glenn Pavone n’ everybody felt my words…..when I busted into the “Boilermaker” guitar lick I thought about da Big Cheese in all his god given glory, just rippin’ huge hunks a’ meat from his guitar……….we started da show with my regular five piece line up……Harry Bottoms on bass….Brice Foster on drums………Larry Siefers on keys n’ sax…..Vinny Q on guitar……… and the addition of ole friend Whitey Cooper on BG vocals…..”End of the Line” rocked da house straight up… “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”………as I was introducin’ da song “Wonder”, I was lookin’ out at da sky n’ da crowd n’ it all made sense…..fer a minute…….Enter, longtime Pittsburgh rockin’ blues singer Gary Beloma n’ guitar banger Jimmy Adler…….”I Hate A Nickel” gave Gary the shot to show off his dance moves….n’ I , fer one, was impressed…….Mr Beloma did a solemn take on “If I Had A Child” …….Whitey n’ Gary took a powder n’ Jimmy Adler held down center stage with a lead vocal on a tune I recently wrote, “Game On”……….this Adler guy is bringin’ some strong guitar work to da table these days…….Whitey Cooper took center stage t’ croon “You Go Your Way” to da peoples……he then ripped up a tune that he and I wrote together some twenty years ago for da “This Ole Train” album…….Gary Beloma, Whitey Cooper n’ I barked our way thru “Work Together” n’ workin’ together is a pleasure when your havin’ da kinda fun we was havin’………..
July 22,2011-Friday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA We played well from the git on this Friday show……. “Boilermaker”, “How You Like Me Now”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”……..all dat set up da ole war horse “Nothin’ To Lose” n’ nothin’ feels better n’ blowin’ dat number to da peoples at large……..with the Blues Fest comin’ up tomorrow we wanted to git da shot to have Gary Beloma rip da tunes dat we’re gonna do together tomorrow…….so Gary did “I Hate A Nickel” n’ “If I Had A Child”…………..now we got a little momentum rollin’ in to da big show….RIGHT?.......Patty Spadoro from da local jam band scene came up and did a tune she’d written n’ an ole classic, “Turn On Your Lovelight”……….me n’ my guys hacked out some decent takes on “Sick n’ Tired”, “This Ole Train”, “Pittsburgh, PA “…..”Smoke Two Joints” lit up da peoples…….Larry Siefers sang “Hey Pokey Way”…….the honorable Gary Beloma got back on stage t’ sing an ole Chuck Berry tune n’ an ole Bobby Womack classic……”Comin’ Home”, “Burnin’ Up”, “America’s Son” ….Larry sang “Iko Iko”…………we closed out da night wit a free form tribute t’ some buddies that we’ve recently lost…..Warren King…Glenn Pavone…Bird Foster………………..play on brother, play on…………….
July 19, 2011-Tuesday The Amphitheater at Erie’s Bayfront: Erie, PA A beautiful evening right on the water………….when tonight’s headline act , Jake’s Blues, was doin their sound check I sat down at their Hammond organ and tried to jam wit ‘em…………. Mojo, from Rocket Radio, introduced us………lotsa folks sittin’ in lawn chairs……walkin’round………… n’ just standin’ in front of da stage……………tonight we did the same show that we been tryin’ to git right for the past couple months……..”Boilermaker” felt like it was on very solid ground………….”Rock n’ Roll City” came out da box rippin’………”Son OF A Gun” n’ “Pittsburgh, PA” both seemed t’ hit their mark………..The sound of Larry Sieffer’s tenor sax defined the next two numbers, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” n’ “Wonder”……by this point in da show da crowd was just gittin deeper n’ deeper….thousands of folks had gathered together for da miracle of rock n’ roll……”I Hate A Nickel”….”Heat Of The Night”……”Poor Little Rich Kid” felt like it wanted to be played on da big stage wit all dem folks just lookin’ for a beatin’………”Burnin’ Up” wasn’t da perfet set closer but dat’s da way it worked out……..all da guys played great tonight….Vinny did a couple slick solo’s…..Harry n’ Brice supplied a seamless blanket of feel strong rhythm………Larry used da colors of da rainbow t’ brighten up da slop……went back onstage wit Larry on sax t’ play Jake’s last song of da night…..”We Came To Party”……………
July 16, 2011-Saturday Eastwood Mall: Niles, Ohio This was a well attended date that put us as opening act for The Houserockers, and Donnie Iris…………”Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “Pittsburgh, PA”…………I looked down into da VIP tent beside da stage n’ saw Donnie watchin’ us work so I turned away from da audience n’ shot da dirty zipper trick to Donnie…..pretty cool….huh?.....”The Blues Come Blowin’ In” really got the crowd fired up….saw ole buddy Bill Ambrose hangin wit another ole buddy, Steve Acri….both of ‘em was bud’s with Paul Shook back in da day………….”Wonder” set up “Heat Of The Night”……..”I Hate A Nickel” set up “How You Like Me Now”………”Burnin’ Up” was a good number t’ play for this crowd as was “End Of The Line”………tons of requests led to “Smoke Two Joints” as da closer……………da flatlander’s of Ohio seem t’ feel our rendering’s……………….dem flander’s is all right wit me…….. July 2, 2011-Saturday Legacy Lanes: Pittsburgh, PA Under The Bigtop……….alongside da bowlin’ alley building, da guys set up a beautiful tent, kinda like some Arabian sheik would keep some a’ his wives in………Play It And They Will Come………wasn’t nobody home but us chickens till we started squeezin’ out some noise………didn’t take but a minute n’ da tent started fillin’ up folks, nice folks, my kinda folks………brother Dave did the intro and I gotta say, he took the gig seriously…….out of his face came flyin’ words like wop n’ greezeball………”Game On”. “Boilermaker”…….we did all da tunes we been doin in da first set lately………some of the older ones stood out tonight, tunes like “Nothin’ To Lose”, “Heat Of The Night”, “Sick n’ Tired”…..saw all kindsa’ ole buds…….Bobby Moore, Tom Lovely, Dave Craft, Megan n’ Mark……..”Mercy Mercy” n’ “T-Bird” kicked set 2…….”America’s Son”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “Burnin’ Up”, “Smoke Two Joints”…………..got Crash McCracken up on drums to start da last show………….thought it would be a good idea t’ play a couple cover tunes so we hit “Brown Eyed Girl”, “Honkey Tonk Women”………da dance floor filled up with life flowin over……….when Brice Foster got back on drums, I had him sing da ole Grand Funk arrangement of that ole Marvin Gaye number, “Some Kind Of Wonderful”………….closed out da show wit a wild take of “Little Things”……….Under The Bigtop…….dat’s where a clown like me……belongs…….
July 1, 2011-Friday Mogie’s Pub: Lower Burrell, PA Out on Mogie’s patio there was dis party goin on……….saw ole bud Higgy, n’ he looked good….luv dat…..”Game On”………..hung with Mogie before we went on n’ we talked about dago’s n’ mick’s n’ like dat……”Rock n’ Roll City”, “How You Like Me Now”…………hung with Mogie on da first break n’ we talked about da ole days & da ole gang..& da thinning of da bloodlines n’ like dat…… “T-Bird” opened set 2 and there was a genuine sense off well being on da party patio…..right? “Smoke Two Joints” satisfied a request. I sent “I Shall Be Released” out to da donkey, who I ain’t seen in a coon’s age……. “Comin’ Home” opened set 3…….saw Frankie n’Billy & this other wop I ain’t seen in years, Tony………..luv dat……got local legend, Larry Belli up t’ play guitar on “Minimum Wage”, “Shake Rattle n” Roll”, n’ “Walkin’ To My Baby”…………….good mix of older & younger tonight, we touched a few youngin’s tonight…………..
June 25, 2011-Saturday Birdie’s Landing: Port Vue, PA Our first Birdie’s Landing show was ten years ago………last Saturday in June, ten years runnin’………..”Boilermaker”, “Hoochie Mama”, “How You Like Me Now”, “Rock n’ Roll City” ….we sang “Happy Birthday” to Rosemary………”Son Of A Gun”, “Pittsburgh, PA”…..dear friend Kenny Blake showed up on his Harley, saxophone strapped on……..got onstage for one song n’ one song only……he had a payin’ gig t’ git to……we layed down a thang wit “Mercy Mercy”, da ole Cannonball Adderly tune n’ stayed outta Mr Blake’s way….folks was shoutin’ out his named………wham bam thank ya mam…..n’ Kenny rumbled off in t’ da night……”Sick n’ Tired” is just startin’ t’ come off wit this band…..”The Blues Come Blowin’ In” & “Wonder” both really came across strong…….got t’ hang wit an ole buddy that I used to work in a band wit back in 1972….name a’ Yonk….cool name, huh?.....Set two busted out with “End Of The Line”, Vinny Q did a heartfelt solo on that rag……Brice Foster sang “Minimum Wage” I sang “You Go Your Way” then we all sang “Happy Birthday” to young Zak Bettors, who was then forced onstage by me n’ his daddy t’ bark along with his cousin, Ryan on “Lovedog”………some times love hurts……………I started singin’ “Like A Rolling Stone” n’ Zak’s daddy, Bob started blowin’ harp……..”Smoke Two Joints” brought down da house…..Set three sparked wit “T-Bird” …Larry Siefers sang “Hey Pockey Way”…………….after four n’ a half hours a’ throwin’ n’ showin’ we shut it down wit Bob Bettors n’ his buddy Dan duelin’ harps……..guess where I’ll be last Saturday in June 2012……… June 23, 2011-Thursday Carson Street Live: Station Square-Pittsburgh, PA Where’s Vinny?.......we did this show 4 piece…..”Game On”, “Mercy Mercy”,……”How You Like Me Now”, ”Pittsburgh, PA”, “I Hate A Nickel”….Harry n’ Brice were lockin’ down on da grooves so me n’ Larry was blowin’ pretty free…. “Wonder”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “This Ole Train”, “You Go Your Way”……..this was the first time we played this club, I think we’ll try t’ play it again…. Somethin’ ‘bout playin’ in da city is cool………Set two kicked with “Little Things”……..we sent “Heat Of The Night” out to Tom, he axed for it……..”Shit House Rat” come out smellin’ like a rose……..Brice sang “Minimum Wage”……….Larry blew sax on “Tequilla”…….I hacked out “Nothin’ to Lose” n’ “Burnin’ Up” ……..Vinny wasn’t feelin’ well……but he’s OK now………. June 18, 2011-Saturday La Casa Narcisi: Gibsonia, PA This was a beautiful Saturday afternoon under da sun………..Harry n’ I picked up our pickup drummer for the show, Mr Whitey Clyde Cooper, on the way thru da outer layers of the eastside……….da ole familiar 3 piece unit hackin’ out a show………..”Lazy Bones”, “Mercy Mercy”……things picked up real quick when the singer who picked us up for da show got onstage………..Shari Richards ripped da ole tried n’ true “Let The Good Times Roll”………….then smacked around a couple of my songs “New Blood”, “Look What You Done”, “Minimum Wage”…..I sang “Pittsburgh PA” n’ “I Hate A Nickel”……….Shari got off singin’ that ole Otis Rush thang “All The Love” ……….Set two featured Shari singin’ “Victoria’s Secret”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “You Go Your Way”, “Million Tears”………….we had a lil’ fun with “Shakey Ground” …….Whitey sang “Shama Lama Ding Dong” n’ folks started shoutin’ out loud ……I did “Burnin’ Up”, “Wonder” n’ “Comin’ Home”…………..before da wine run out, Shari did delicious takes on “Little Things” n’ Three Times Your Fool” June 11, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA Opened up with a lazy take of “Game On”, added a new verse ‘bout OJ. “Boilermaker”, “How You Like Me Now”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “Pittsburgh, PA”……….Harry was layin’ down a blanket of warm bass tones, Brice was bangin’ big chunks a’ wood…………”The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”, “This Ole Train”, Larry’s blowin’ some harp on that thang n’ it’s startin’ t’ sound OK…………… “America’s Son” felt cool, we used a different drum beat than we had been usin’………..”Heat of The Night”, “End Of The Line”, “I Hate A Nickel”…..”Comin’ Home” ended set one nicely…….Where’s Vinny………….”Mercy Mercy”, “T-Bird”, Brice sang “Minimum Wage” n’ got a couple girls grindin’ in da house….YO…”Nothin’ To Lose” ….Larry sang an ole Neville Bros number,”Hey Pockey Way” & got a new kinda groove goin’ …..Rat got onstage n’ he & I sang happy birthday to me…..not pretty…..we busted into “Wild Thing” n’ Rat got down to a G string……….who wants it?.............you do May 27, 2011-Friday The Vermont: Erie, PA Nice showcase club right on the strip downtown………..lotsa bikes lined da streets………saw a mess a’ folks I ain’t seen in a while…….Jake Banta and his wife Shelly were in the house checkin’ out da show…….we kicked it with “Game On”, it’s a good tune to warm up da the stage & give the sound people the chance to catch a feel………..”Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “End Of The Line”, “Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Wonder”, “Heat Of The Night” ………..folks was dancin’ n hootin’ just like daddy likes. “How You Like Me Now”, “Pittsburgh, PA” ….set one slammed shut with “Little Things” & “America’s Son”………..Brice Foster sang “Minimum Wage” which faded into a loose take of “Mercy Mercy” that gave me n’ Larry da shot to hack it up a while………”Shit House Rat”, “T-Bird” …..We called a buddy of Jake’s onstage to blow a couple tunes on lap steel,a guy named Scotty. “Bare Footin”, “Into the Mystic” came off pretty slick, turns out Scotty had a couple slick moves……….”Lovedog”, “This Ole Train” …….. “Burnin’ Up”, “Sick n’ Tired”, “Comin’ Home” ……young Brendon, who we met last night came out so we got him up to hit “Walkin’ To My Baby’ & “Mojo”…………had a blast playin’ for da peoples………we give ‘em a good 4 hours a ‘ da best lick dat we had………..thought dat we lost Vinny after da truck was loaded……….WHERE’S VINNY………….at da Knight’s Inn……………chillaxin’………….. May 26, 2011-Thursday Sprague Farm and Brew Works: Cambridge, PA I filmed an interview with Lisa Bower for Dirty Dog Productions moments before we went onstage……..the first hour of our show was being filmed to air alongside the interview for a very cool TV show………..”Boilermaker”…….I broke a string so I switched to slide guitar while Skibo got me back to standard tuning……”End Of The Line” felt good…as did “How You Like Me Now”, “Pittsburgh PA”, “Wonder”, “Son Of A Gun”, ……the first set rolled on ‘bout 2 hours…………….”Smoke Two Joints”, “Minimum Wage”……… met a young buck, Brendon & got him up to play & sing “Crossroads”….da kid got some juice…………Brice n’ Harry carried “Ring Of Fire” into a surprise take of “Amazing Grace”……came off nicely….got Brendon up t’ close it out wit “Pride n’ Joy”…………..me n’ da guys went for a walk in da rain all around da Sprauge Farm da morning after da show………… May 14, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA We kicked da show off as a four piece, Larry our keyboard & sax man, had an early gig blowin with Frank Zuri & Little Isadore, two hi-level doo wop acts. “Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “Heat Of The Night” …da rhythm section of Brice Foster & Harry Bottoms was bringin a strong vibe……. “I Hate A Nickel”, Brice sang “Minimum Wage”……..we hadn’t done “Nothin’ To Lose” in a while so it started a little rocky but settled down real slick by the solo at the tail end………”Lovedog” gave Vinny a shot t’ rip, so he did…….”America’s Son” come off………..”Pittsburgh, PA”, “How You Like Me Now”, “End Of The Line”…..the first set lasted two hours and ended with “Smoke Two Joints”……Larry showed for act two so we featured da tenor sax…….”The Blues Come Blowin In” was smoking…..”Wonder”……..come down real emotional…..luv dat…….Brice sang “New Blood” n’ Larry lit up da goose…cool…….. Young Katie Simone got up to sing “Little Things”………we had never played dat tune together before……it came off with some sass……as did this whole evening…….. May 13, 2011-Friday Scottdale Firemans Club: Scottdale PA “Game On” creeped off the stage like a low hangin’ fog. “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, set da stage for a screamin’ take of “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” …”Heat Of The Night”……gave way to “Wonder’….”This Ole Train”, “How You Like Me Now” is really startin’ t’ feel good…….set two featured a hot take of “Iko Iko” wiht Larry Siefers doing vocals n’ slippin some a’ dat slop dat gives it da pop…………RIGHT?..... got a request for “Sick n’ Tired” and “Burnin’ Up” and “T-Bird” and “Lovedog”….did ‘em all……..”Smoke Two Joints” lit up da Firemans Hall…..smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em…… April 30, 2011-Saturday Praha Hotel: Tarentum, PA Nice stage t’ preach from………..so we did a lil’ preachin’………..a lil’ teachin’……… and a lotta reachin’……..not a large crowd, but we did what we could wit what we had n’ when it all shook down……this was a very cool show. “Game On” was definitely the right choice to open wit………….it comes on so casual……….tunes like “Son Of A Gun”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “How You Like Me Now”, “Wonder”, all lit da first stet up…….Set 2 rolled out “Heat Of The Night”, Pittsburgh PA”, “This Ole Train”…………Young Katie Simone was in da house n’ got up t’ sing “Dead Flowers” n’ “I’d Rather Go Blind”…….everybody got off on the vibe, hard …..We jumped into a guitar shuffle jam, don’t know why, just seemed like it wanted t’ happen. “I’m Comin’ Home closed the set. “America’s Son” n’ “Shit House Rat” had never been played with Vinny & Larry but I figgered…… let it rip…….we also broke into a cool version of Junior Walker’s “Shot Gun”……………had some great chicken wings…….da locals called ‘em Funzi’s………… April 29, 2011-Friday Fire House Lounge: Pitcarin, PA A buncha wild folks filled da back room for a revival of sorts…….RIGHT?.......just wrote a few words down over da past week or so n’ it turned into a new tune, so we opened up wit it…..this lazy lick called “Game On” that stars Barry Bonds, Bill Clinton, & Pete Rose……………………. “Mercy Mercy” followed that n’ “Boilermaker” tuned da peoples up………..”Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “The Blues’s Come Blowin’ In”, “How You Like Me Now”, “End Of The Line” ………Larry Siefers sang “Iko Iko” in the second set and it got da natives t’ hootin’ n’ hollerin…..Brice Foster sang “Minimum Wage” while the rest of us bums found a very slick groove, which delighted this ole dog. Brice also sang “New Blood” n’ did a good job on it as did Vinny wit da guitar feel………”Little Things” cranked up strong………..”Burnin’ Up” had Larry blowin some pain right out da bell a’ his tenor saxophone………WORD………the encore of “Smoke Two Joints” had a special man dance performance by two shirtless men…………….and a couple a’ chicks dat got no shame……ya probably shoulda been there March 18, 2011-Friday Legacy Lanes: Pittsburgh, PA Luv dem bowling alley gigs……..bowlers is some party peoples…… our buddy and bowling icon, Dave did the intro & tried to rag it out like da hanful do, needless t’ say, Dave screwed it up and that’s just how we like it. Da whole joint was laughin before we even plucked a string…..”Mercy Mercy” set the stage for “Boilermaker” …..”Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”……folks wasn’t dancin’ but they was payin attention and that’s even better…….”Walking The Dog” got Larry Siefers barkin’ on da saxophone & that brought da dog out in da manful hanful…….now these folks gotta deal wit it. “Wonder” stood out, as it has almost every time we’ve played it. Brice Foster sang “Minimum Wage” from behind the drum kit n’ got folks shoutin’ out loud with some high tight falsetto lickin’. “How You Like Me Now” is startin’ to find it’s groove, Vinny has been bringin’ da good lick guitar flow that makes that tune cruise just right. ……..”Pittsburgh, PA”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “End Of The Line”, “Burnin’ Up” & “Rich Kid” all lit up da second set………lottsa smiles on peoples face all night long……..BIGTIME fun………I brought an ole and dear friend, Jason Treuman, onstage for the last set to play guitar wit us……….”Walking To My Baby” gave Vinny, Larry, and Jason all the chance to stretch out…..”Round n’ Round” swung like a monkey in a tree…….Bassman, Harry Bottoms, set da table for “Hoochie Mama” which seemed t’ bring da hoochie out of da ladies on da dance floor…….
March 17, 2011-Thursday Moondogs: Blawnox, Pa This evening we celebrated the release of “Bone A Fide” ……we been redeemed……..now we “Bone A Fide”…….”Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “Pittsburgh, PA”, “How You Like Me Now”, “Heat Of The Night”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” ……..I gotta say that it’s a whole lotta fun playin wit dis 5 piece band da past couple months, Harry Bottoms on bass has been the anchor for me and all the guys, Brice Foster on drums, Vinny Q on guitar & Larry Siefers on keys n’ sax……….as we were workin on dis eve I was imaging just how powerful this unit could become….” End Of The Line”, “Rich Kid”, we sent “Lovedog” out to Judy………”I Hate A Nickel”, “Smoke Two Joints”……after a short break Brice, Harry, Larry & I got up and hit “Somethin’s Cookin”………at this point we brought three singers onstage to try something we ain’t tried before…….Shari Richards shouted out “New Blood” while Whitey Cooper and Mark Stutso layed down a dark road of BG vocals that took da thang to a juke joint paradise…….Whitey Cooper ragged out a tune that he co-wrote with me back in da 90’s, “Just Like A Woman”. Harry n’ I joined Stutso n’ Richards on BG vocals………Stutso did the heavy liftin’ on “If I Had A Child” although Whitey sang verse 2 and Shari did verse 3. Whitey was in his wheelhouse on da gospel tinged “Town With No Name” and I did my best t’ blend wit Shari n’ Stutso on da tight harmonies. Larry Siefers tenor sax lead the charge for Shari Richard’s smokey lead vocal on “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”….. Stutso’s vocal on “You Go Your Way” had a whole room wide eyed and open mouthed. The party kicked it up when Whitey Clyde Cooper did “Shama Lama Ding Dong”….n’ dat rolled into Stutso’s “Heart Break Shake”…..Shari smacked “Little Things” around…. Stutso had his way wit “Million Tears” n’ “Three Times Your Fool” ……yes …I kinda like da idea of havin three lead singers onstage with me…….all three of ‘em took a piece of “Work Together”……. n’ dat’s what we did all night long………………….we been redeemed……now we “Bone A Fide”…….. March 5, 2011-Saturday Jay’s Sports Bar: Canonsburg, PA Saw a mess a’ folks dat I know, Nick da ginny,Judy, Bobby Moore da ole car whore n’ Billy, Megan, Mark n’ Bob, young buck musician, Todd………got t’ see how da south hills folks roll………..okay, so we roll in from the east side and come out the gate wiht a soul jamming “Mercy Mercy” just t’ let da peoples know dat da wind would be blowin from da east this eve. “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “I Hate A Nickel”, “Pittsburgh, PA”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, & “Wonder” lit up the first set, scattered between some ole cover tunes to keep the natives involved till I had some time to change their religion’s………know what I’m sayin?.........we brought up John, from “Drum World”, to play tubs on da last couple tunes, da Latin Blues “Walkin’ To My Baby” & da ole rocker, “Round n’ Round”, & John clung tight to bassman Harry Bottoms like ya ‘spose to…… “Boilermaker” kicked off act two followed by “How You Like Me Now”……..Brice Foster lit it up with a sexy take of “Minimum Wage”, croonin high n’ tight. Larry Siefers led us thru an arrangement he does of “Iko Iko”…….. dat was fired up….bet it’s gonna be even more fired up next time we drop da whole hammer on it. My boy Vinny has been layin it down on guitar, givin yours truly, da whop wit da bop, da change t’ git a gut full a’ air n’ maybe hit a note once in a blue moon…..Right?......Act Three was short n’ sweet…….”End Of The Line”, “How You Like Me Now”, “Rich Kid”, “Lovedog”…………….now da south hills know a lil’ bit bout how we roll…………..Right?...... March 4, 2011-Friday DomLysElla’s: East McKeesport, PA Rat brought a half size male blowup doll, didn’t blow it up till after we started playin, he was afraid dat he might have t’ pay a cover charge…….”Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Hoochie Mama”……we played “How You Like Me Now” for da first time wit dis unit….didn’t sound too bad……”I Hate A Nickel” is startin’ t’ earn it’s keep……”Nothin’ To Lose” ….powerful……Brice sang “Some Kind Of Wonderful”……..Both Brice & Harry did solo’s on “Tequilla” that got to that inner Pee Wee in us all……..”Smoke Two Joint’s” gave Vinny da shot t’ rip some huge hunks a’ meat right outta da guitar, no…really…….”Heat Of The Night” had a calming effect in spite of its powerful underbelly………Larry Siefers went outside wit da tenor sax on “Burnin’ Up”…………hey ….it’s nice out………think I’ll leave it out……………… February 11, 2011-Friday Consol Energy Center: Pittsburgh, PA I gotta thank my ole friend JBJ for da shot dat got me hot……..Bobby Banderia was hangin’ onstage during sound check & told me , “Don’t worry, the bass drum will be louder when the front PA turns on.”……..we shot some video footage backstage before da show……….when we stood up I said, “I’d like to start the evening off with a song for the late great Glenn Pavone”, Hey bartender, gimme a shot and a beer”………da slimy dark tones of “Boilermaker” rolled out over da joint like a morning fog……..”Rock n’ Roll City” needed to be played to this crowd, to set up da root system………wanted t’ do stuff from “Bone A Fide” & “Son Of A Gun” seemed like a winner t’ me, n’ it felt like a winner on stage this evening. When Larry Siefers started blowin’ da intro to “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” on his sax da joint felt da pain…………dipped into “Bone A Fide” again for “End Of The Line” which gave Vinny Q a shot t’ rip it up….and he did…….then I slipped n’ slided n’ gracefully glided into da last song of our short but sweet show, “Pittsburgh, PA.”Which kicked off wit Brice Foster’s big foot n’ Harry Bottoms thick sound………like dat ole Broadway tune said years ago, …….I could have danced all night…………and still have danced some more……. February 9, 2011-Wednesday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA I jumped at the chance to play this show, knowin’ dat we had to open for Bon Jovi two days later. I’m figgerin’dat we need all the work we can get. I got a chance to hang wit PK Lavengood and Kenny Aaronson of John Eddie’s band before da show. John, leader of the evening’s headline act, is a friend from years ago, back in da 80’s, part of dat ole Asbury Park NJ gang……..we hit wit da same show that I figgered t’ do come Friday night. “Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Son Of A Gun”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “End Of The Line”………wanted to play “Wonder” in a higher key so we smacked that tune around pretty good…….. “Heat Of The Night”, “Pittsburgh, PA”……we threw “Rich Kid” a beatin’ n’ got off da stage……..did some hangin in da back a’ da Dog House wit da boys……….met John’s new drummer…..Calabreze………Kenny was takin pictures of Harry…….PK…….dat’s m’ boy…… February 5, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA The music sounded just right from da first stroke of “Boilermaker”. By da time we did da closing lick of “Rock n’ Roll City” I could tell that the sound of da band was gittin to da folks in attendance. “Son Of A Gun” felt just like its ‘sposed to. Larry Siefers tenor sax lit up “The Blues Come Blowin In” so we extended the solo sections so the music had time to breath……….we hit da ole Rufus Thomas tune, “Walking The Dog”, ta loosen up da house. I started tellin a story about Archie Bell and the Drells & we slipped into “Tighten Up”……..”Pittsburgh PA” had a somber, almost creepy feel to it, LUV DAT…… ole war horses “Nothin To Lose” & “Heat Of The Night” both reminded me why those songs were written, t’ shiver da timbers of da peoples……we did a new song that I’m not quite finished writing “Wonder” n’ I learned a few things in the process. Vinny Q stood out on “End OF The Line” with his stone cold rock n’ roll vibration….”Rich Kid” came on strong………Great first set…….”Mercy Mercy” with the sax was smoking…..”This Ole Train”, “I Hate A Nickel” …….somebody started yellin out ‘bout Willy Nelson gittin busted so we slipped into “Good Hearted Woman” ….Moondog got up onstage to do his Myron Cope impersonation while I sang “Stiller Nation”……Young Erin Z got up to sing “Be My Baby” just as a giant hum took over the sound system & shivered my timbers. Soon enough Skibo jiggled a couple wires and we was in b’nit. “Be My Baby” gave me a chance to listen to the band as Erin sang……..it was cool…….things got outta hand………we did “Tequila”….da Ratman jumped onstage n’ started strippin…. n’ he didn’t stop…..till he was wearin a G string………he jumped on da bar n’ Harry looked at me n’ said “Wild Thing” …like I said…..things got crazy……….
February 4, 2011-Friday P.D.’s Pub: Pittsburgh, PA This bein da first gig wit dis p’tickler five piece unit, I was …….ready for anything……..ANYTHING?.......... with Brice Foster on drums & BG vocals, longtime sentence survivor, Harry Bottoms on bass & BG vocals, Vinny Q on the raggedy guitar, and ole bud from the streets of Shadyside “when Shadyside was cool”, Larry Siefers on keys & tenor sax. We took da stage n’ hit wit “Boilermaker”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Heat Of The Night” & “The Blues Come Blowin In”………..didn’t sound too bad…….a ‘lil outta control…….but, heeey……”Love Dog” went out for a special request and we got into a discussion ‘bout, “what is da worst song I ever wrote”?……..I can’t answer that question…….ask Whitey Cooper….bet he’d know…..we hit “Smoke Two Joints” & Donnie Dread came up outta da crowd, took da mic n’ ripped dis intense freestyle rap dat snapped my girdle ….hard………the night flew by in a moment. “Round n’ Round”, “Ring Of Fire”, “Burnin’ Up”… We did “Wonder” for the first time…..a little shakey…….”Brown Eyed Girl”……when ya shake it all down…not a bad show……wit dis p’tickler five piece unit………… January 12, 2011-Wednesday Celtic Cottage: Long Branch, NJ Da cozy cottage was packed wit a buncha’ folks,
seen mosta’ dem before, scattered ova da years. Big Joe Henry introduced
Harry, Bobby, & I, and before we even played a note da bull crap was
flyin back n’ forth between us and da goofballs sittin at da bar. We hit
wit a barrage of Norman songs “I’m A Man”, “Pittsburgh, PA”, “Playin’ In
A Rock n’ Roll Band”, “America’s Son”, “The Tree”, “It Is What It Is”.
January 8, 2011-Saturday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA This was one a’ dem nights dat I never did turn da monkey loose, know what I mean? Did what I could, just couldn’t git my mind right. “Lazy”, “Rebel Rouser”, “Somethin’s Cookin”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In”, “Pittsburgh, PA”, “It Is What It Is” …..Harry sang “Pot’s n’ Pans” n’ Stutso sang “If I Had a Child”, they both sounded great. Whitey Cooper jumped behind the tubs, Stutso took center stage n’ we ripped “Three Times Your Fool”, “Million Tears” n’ “You Go Your Way”…….Stutso got behind da tubs n’ Whitey got out front n’ chirped “Shama Lama Ding Dong”, “My Girl” n’ “634-5789”……..”Boilermaker”, “Burnin’ Up”, “Little Things”……Stutso worked over “It’s My Own Fault”……sang “Happy Birthday” to Allie…….hit “Look What You Done”, “Mercy Mercy”, “I Hate A Nickle” ……..a fresh young lady, Erin Z, got up & did a slick take of “Be My Baby”…..I got Sam Satler n’ Felix da hurricane up to rip some guitar on tunes like “Walkin’ The Dog” & “Bow Legged Woman”…….Jill Simmons stood up n’ sang “Chain Of Fools” & stuck around to help out on background vocals on “Try Me” and sang da high part wit me & Stutso on “Hidin’ n’ Peepin’”……..”Smoke Two Joints” sent da sinners home……….. December 30, 2010-Thursday Market Square: Pittsburgh, PA A chilly, early afternoon in downtown Pittsburgh to pump up da “Winter Classic” and da “Quins”………hey……..I’m all about it. All kinds of folks gathered in the Square t’ hoot n’ holler ‘bout groan men on skates….hey…I’m all about it…the guys from Kardaz were there to sing their tune “The Mighty Quins”…….Saw Mike Lange, one of the most coolest guys on this planet, and Phil Bourqe, da ole 29er’, and media stars Albey Oxen-----?, and Val Porter, and Dan Onorado. Hey, he runs this whole county. My favorite part of da day is when dat high school band came marchin in loud n’ proud……bringin’ it baby……….We had Jimmy Adler as our guest guitarist and he was rippin’, so I turned da monkey loose………then I got a bunch of young folks from the high school band onstage t’ turn da monkey loose………MONKEY TIME………Harry was playin bass guitar wit gloves on……he had da fingers cut out……cool, huh?.......Stutso was playin drums and singin his tail off on “It’s My Own Fault” and Jimmy Adler was pluckin blue tones from da plank n’ I was “proud as a ruttin’ buck” t’ be a part of it……….
December 26, 2010 Jeffries Landing: Bridgewater, PA This event was put together by Rick Granati to celebrate Morry Martin, the man who ran Morry’s Speakeasy back in da day. All of the acts on this show, The Granati Brothers, The Silencers & me, used to play at da Speakeasy. I told a story onstage about the night Morry said to me, “excuse me, I think I’m gonna go cut one loose from the herd”…….luv dat…..Me and Harry drove out together, not knowin’ who was gonna be playin’ tubs…….met this guy named Greg that I’d played with at a couple jams and knew he could shuffle so we used him on the first tune, “Lazy Bones”…..we then got Tony Bonomo out to play drums for the rest of our short set which included “I Hate A Nickel”, “The Blues Come Blowin’ In” & “Moneymaker”……da joint was packed n’ rockin strong……..couldn’t hang after our set, but I been told dat I missed a couple strong sets by da G boys n’ da Silencers
December 4, 2010-Saturday Burgi’s Roundhouse: Altoona, PA I didn’t catch da name of da first band on da show tonight but they we’re pretty cool, nice guitar player n’ a younger girl singer dat had a big voice. My ole buddy Felix got up next n’ caused a hurricane wit his skin tight 3 piece band. These guys are da faves of this area cause dey work like mules…..luv dat….a band dat ‘ll drop n’ give 4 or 5 hours wit out cavin in…….manful…..We hit it wit a bang, “Boilermaker”, “Rebel Rouser”, “Rock n’ Roll City”…..I started to rap at da Altoids in attendance n’ figgered out dat some of these folks had a sense of humor, so we ran wit dat ……….”Somethin’s Cookin”, “The Blues Come Blowin In”, which got some midsong applause……..which snapped my girdle, I must admit. “Little Things” gave me da chance t’ blow some sloppy slide guitar work……..luv dat…..”America’s Son” worked fairly well….”Shit House Rat” ran wit dat humor thang….”Rich Kid” did what it do…..flaug…..da “Love dog” barked its way into da hearts of da locals…I’m hopeful……one of da local gals yelled out” we wanna dance” so I turned Brice Foster loose on ‘em t’ sing “Some Kind Of Wonderful” n’ da dance floor was flooded wit humanity…….luv dat……..After a short break, we came back on stage wit Felix joining Brice, Harry n’ I wit a latin blues dat had a dark feel……”I Hate A Nickel” gave Felix da chance t’ blow some smoke….. “Folsum Prison Blues” went red neckiin……. Did ”Help Me Make It Thru The Night” just because I think it’s one of da coolest songs I ever heard….sent “Heart Break Shake” out t’ Chuck n’ got some vocal support…..”Smoke Two Joints” rang thru da bar room…………….
December 3, 2010-Friday Moondogs: Blawnox, PA This was a relaxed n’ powerful situation, da modest house got what it bargained for……n’ gave back enough t’ really make it special. “lazy Bones”, “Rebel Rouser”, “Somethin’s Cookin”, “Son Of A Gun”, “The Blues Come Blowin In”, “The Tree”……….Harry did “Pot’s n’ Pans” after I did a littte rap bout Beethovin’s notes n’ Beethovin’s fifth, guess ya had t’ be there, “America’s Son” is startin t’ come ‘round. Brice sang “Minimum Wage” n’ brought dat ole Night Owl vocal style……”Rich Kid”……….some friends brought out a 13 year old kid name ‘a Ricky who I met this summer n ‘ told him t’ study da ole Chuck Berry thang “Johnny B. Goode”….. so I hand my guitar t’ dis kid name ‘a Ricky, who I never heard play a note……….n’ count off “Johnny”….n’ dam…. dat boy could play…….folks gave him an inspired round of applause n’ I figgered……how do ya follow dat?.....so we took a break….got Katie Simone up t’ sing early in da second set n’ she did a great job on “I’d Rather Go Blind”….I did a couple new ones “It Is What It Is” “The Horse Your Ridin” n’ “Three Kings In Memphis” ……we got Ricky up t’ do a latin blues n’ a shuffle n’ he stood up to it………Katie got back up n’ did “Dead Flowers” proud………somebody requested “Nothin To Lose”………made me think, “Nothin To Lose” was written 18 years before Ricky was born……….. Stay tuned for the latest updates! Better yet, come to one of the shows and experience "The Manful Handful" himself, first hand!
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