Around The Blog

   It has already snowed for the 1st time of the season. It was a great summer and we hate to see it go! Last night we looked out the window and there were 10 deer roaming the parking lot. Looking for food no doubt.
  A few changes at the Lady Luck. The poker room and Blackjack pit has moved upstairs and is now directly behind the bands. Playing at a very low volume is the key. We use in ear monitors so that helps, although we still have a 10 inch monitor behind us at a quiet level just to give us a little bass response. Our mix is going through all the ceiling speakers throughout the casino. Our friends Buford and Shirley, The Robeys duo are playing at the Lady Luck this week. It’s great having old friends to hang out with. We had a fun jam with them last night. They are great players.
  We played the Riviera Casino a few weeks ago and that is always fun.
  We went to see John Mayer at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in September, Kari’s sister flew in from Texas to go with us and stayed a few days.
  We played The Golden, CO 1st Friday Street Fair Labor Day weekend and that was a blast!
  We took a trip to Vegas to our friend, Art’s wedding. Art is a great bass player and he and Jerry have known each other since high school. It was a fun trip. We went to ‘The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil’ show at The Mirage and it was amazing! We took a little trip to the Gold and Silver pawn shop from the television show ‘Pawn Stars’ and it was very cool! Even though we’ve played in Vegas numerous times and lived there a few times it was fun to go there as a tourist.
  Jerry bought a new amp, a 1965 Princeton. His friend Bob found it at a garage sale one street over from Jerry’s dad’s house in Greenville! It will be great to record with it.
  See ya next time!

   It’s hard to believe Labor day is only 2 weeks away. We are playing at the Golden’s First Friday street fair in downtown Golden, Colorado that weekend.
  The weather has been typical Colorado weather, hot, cool, rain...
  The new PA at the Lady Luck has been installed and all the bands are going through the entire casino including the sidewalks. Really have to keep on top of that as far as what you say! There have been a few problems with controlling the level of the different zones in the casino and the level seems to change daily but all in all it is a good thing and it shows the casino’s commitment to live music.
  We bought a new home studio Tascam Neo 2488 and have started recording. It’s been a while and getting back into recording has been a lot of fun.
  We have been getting out and seeing some of tourist sights. We played a gig in Colorado Springs so we spent the night and drove through The Garden Of The Gods, absolutely gorgeous! There are a lot of beautiful walking paths that are along Clear Creek. We went downtown Denver to the 16 Street Mall and went to some music stores. We had a great picnic at Gennesse Park! Today we took a drive through Pike National Forrest, beautiful! Last night a coyote howled outside our patio door really loud for about 15 minutes, it was quite a sound.
  We had some friends from around home, Dallas and Oklahoma, come see us at the casino 2 nights last week and that was fun.
  Along with playing the Lady Luck Casino we also play across the street at The Riviera Casino. It’s sometimes a challenge to put out equipment on 2 hand trucks and cart them down the street. The Riv is always fun to play and the people we work with are great. The casino just added Sunday afternoon for the bands to play. It’s a quick turnaround playing until midnight Saturday and then back at noon Sunday, but having more work is always a good thing.
  See you next time!

  Well, Summer is finally here. Yay!!! We survived the winter here in Colorado as we have many times before. Anyone remember the blizzard of ‘03 ? We were snowed in for 3 days. Even the casinos closed!!
  The weather has been gorgeous.
  Last Friday night we played at a street fair in downtown Golden, and it was a blast. We are doing it again in September.
  We went to see Crosby, Stills and Nash at Red Rocks Amphitheater and had so much fun. The sound was a little off at first but after an hour they took a break and when they came back miraculously they sounded great. Hmmmm… We think the soundman took the same break!! We have tickets to see John Mayer there in September.
  We were looking back at our contracts and we have been playing in Black Hawk on and off for 15 years. The Lady Luck gig has been great. Still on the day shift and they have added a night shift. 2 duos a day 7 days a week. Thankful for the work and it’s good to have friends around. Barbara and Cody, ‘Vegas Roadshow’ are here right now. We haven’t seen them in years, the last time was in Vegas. Tony
and Jo, ‘ Naked City' just left and Jim and Tracy, ‘Saxy Lady' are here, also. The casino installed a lighting system for the stage, LED lights and they are fab. Also, new JBL speakers on the wall and they are working on getting the bands through the house PA.
  We went home to Texas for a few weeks to see the family and that was a good break. Jerry brought back his Tom Anderson guitar and he Loves it!
  Looking forward to great summer!!!

  Well , 7 months later and happily we’re still in Colorado. Thought it would only be for a month or so but the gig is still going. We feel lucky to have the steady work.
The snow has not been so bad this winter but March is the snowiest month so we’re getting ready.
  Jerry had a bout with pneumonia and after 6 weeks he is still trying to shake it. We managed to work through it but it was tough.
  One of our oldest friends, Doug Powell, in the duo, Cherry Pie passed away last month. We have known him and his partner, Ava, for over 25 years. We met them when we were all doing the Holiday Inn circuit in the 80’s. He was a great bass player and singer and Ava can scare a guitar player to death with her screaming guitar riffs on the Rhodes piano. She's a great singer as well. They were a very powerful duo and we hope Ava continues to perform. We will miss Doug and his music.
  Our good friends, Chas and Michael, The Bottom Line Duo are back on the scene here in Black Hawk. We have known them for 15 years and it good to have them playing the gigs with us.
  See ya next time!

Snowing here in Colorado and 8 degrees.
We are still playing in the casinos in Black Hawk. The Lady Luck has added the week days back for us to play. 3 -7pm, good shift, still have the nights free. We are working straight through till Christmas with 1 day off but that's a good thing, not complaining. We are still working at the Riviera Casino 1 weekend a month. That is really a fun gig. We are really lucky to be working with such great people, marketing, bartenders, managers, etc... What a difference it makes for enjoying the gig. Our agent, Michael has been great at keeping us working.
Enjoy the holidays!

  Hope everyone had a fun Halloween. We hung out in the cabin and watched the World Series and a movie.
  We are still playing in the casinos in Black Hawk, Colorado. Lady Luck and Riviera. Had a big snow storm this week. Black Hawk got over 2 feet of snow. The roads weren't that bad the couple of days we had to drive up and down the mountain to the gig. Now it's sunshine and not too cold.
  We are taking a qiuck trip home to Texas next week to see the family, then back to Colorado.

  Had the 1st snow of the season today. It snowed all morning and afternoon. Evergreen, about 15 minutes from us, got 9 inches of snow. . Fortunatly we are on the day shft and don't have to deal with driving at night. . A few more days in store then back to the 70's.
  Jerry is enjoying his new Tom Anderson Strat, although the 1st thing he did was replace the pickups. It only weighs 6 pounds and is much easier on his back.
  Our house gig at the Lady Luck (formerly Colorado Central Station) seems to be solid through the end of the year. They are talking about building a new lounge with a dance floor, sound system and lights. A sound company was out a few days a go to give an estimate on the sound system, hope it happens.
  Jim and Tracy, Saxy Lady Duo are here sharing the stage with us. Tony and Jo, Naked City Duo, were here with us the last couple of weeks. Great to see old friends

Jerry is still playing in his back brace. He wants to bolt his guitar to the center brace so he can spin it aroung like ZZ Top. He is looking forward to ordering the Warmoth guitar to shave a few pounds off the load on his back.
It's been 3 years since our good friend LJ was taken away from us. We sure miss her and think about her everyday.
We are all pulling for old friend Mike Castleberry's son, who is in Parkland hospital in serious condition. Send your thoughts and prayers his way.

  Enjoying a few days off after 32 gigs in a row. We played the Riviera Casino for the 1st time and really had a lot of fun. Saw a few old friends from years ago.
  We really miss all our friends in Nevada and on the cruise ships but don't see an opportunity to go back out there any time soon.
  Got a new power amp, QSC GX5, and really like it. Very powerful and clear.
  We are finally sort of used to the altitude but it takes a lot of extra air to sing and play.
  Jerry has a fratured disc in his back and is still wearing a back brace. Setting up and tearing down 4 times a week has been quite the challenge.
  We start back at the Lady Luck day gig Sunday.
  It's beautiful here in Colorado right now so we are taking advantage of the outdoors.

Just finished day 13 of what is now 37 days in a row. We've enjoyed the gigs in Black Hawk. Playing the day shift at Lady Luck is different. We are on the 2nd floor overlooking the casino and behind us is the bar and machines so our backs are to the people playing. At least we have open air so volume is not an issue. Working at 3 really comes early, but getting back to the room at 7:30 is nice to have the evening to relax. Colorado is beautiful this time of year but the altitude is really messing with us.

Just finished our 1st week of 31 days in a row. The gig at Lady Luck is going well. July 1st Colorado voted to have the casinos open 24 hours and raised the betting limit from $5 to $100. So for bands it's a good thing for gigs. The weather has been amazing here in Idaho Springs, 70's in the day 40's at night. Watched a great fireworks show last night on the patio at the motel. Hope everyone had a great 4th!!

The JD Souther concert at Son's Of Hermann Hall in Dallas was very good but JD seemed to have a little rock star
anger built up inside. Having his latest CD we were expecting a full band with jazz musicians but he was alone with
just an acoustic guitar. His singing was fantastic and the songs speak for themselves but it got a little uncomfortable
when he told a lady in front of us to "Shut the F Up". Then he told the people at the bar to "Shut up and quit being assholes".
He then complained about how filthly the piano keys were and said "Who's the last person to play this ? Some whore from Hall St ?" when actually it was the opening act, Kristy Kruger, who was just great!! After the last song he just laid his guitar down
and walked off stage without a word, no MC or anything.
Although we really enjoyed the concert it didn't make us want to run out and pop his latest cd in the player,
but it's still our favorite.

The Threadgill concert in Greenville with Marcia Ball and Doyle Bramhall was great. How cool was it that Trig Ward was honored and his sons and grandson sat in with Marcia. Jerry took guitar lessons from Trig when he was a kid.
The storm that day and night was something else. We were drenched by the time we got home.
Too bad the Blooms Blues Festival got rained out. There should be more outside venues for live music.