Bluewine

Yes, as recently as NYE. Looking at the crowd , how great the stage looked with our lighting and gear knowing I'm a part of this. I know I sound like a broken record. I think very few of us hate being in a band or gigging. I think some of us hate the decisions we've made. Playing in bands with questionable people with no sense of direction, discipline or ethics. Face it guys, there are some folks out there that don't even know how to be in a band. I'm grateful I'm not the guy looking,wishing he had a gig. I love the attention. I love being approached by people that want to talk to me only because I'm in the band. However it's not easy keeping my spirit up after 50 years of gigging. Health issues and fighting to stay a live in a scene that's dieing. It helps that we cherry pick our gigs now. We know crap gigs when we see them and will not book them. And most of all, I play with good people. We're ego and drama free. Gigging is still a blast for me. While chronologically I'm 66, I still have the same spirit I had when I started gigging in public at age 12. Blue

How can you lose on New Years Eve? We played The Barley Pop Pub & Restaurant. This was new for us, we had played Ariba's in Butler for the past 10 years. Unfortunately new owners came in last year they didn't understand live music and brought in pool tables. They closed within 2 months. Back to The Barley Pop. Nice looking room even nicer once our lighting was set up. We started at 4:00. The place was packed with Maple Road fans. The band sounded good, this is our 3rd public gig with our new guitarist. We played until 7:00, I was home by 9:00. Tear down took a while as we used our full blown. sound and lights. Blue

It happens to all of us. It's why I always stress good people before anything else. My band is not the best local band around. We don't have the best singer guitarist drummer or anything like that. However we do have good fair people in the band , no monkey business. Blue

If it was good enough for John Lennon it's good enough for me. Blue

We're the other signs that these guys were not on the " up and up" ? Blue

Love that catch phrase. "Shake Some Action" Blue

I wish you luck Rev. Blue

Exactly what I thought. Enjoy the evening Lozz. Blue

Another member of the " Only Sober Member Of The Band Club" Welcome aboard. Blue

I'm not sure I know what ticketed means, however it sounds lucrative Dave. Nice! Blue

This is awesome. The assisted living market is something I hope we can tap into in 2020. These folks really appreciate live music. Blue

Yeah, same $$ Hiram. These early NYE gigs are getting very popular in my neck of the woods. My band leader was telling me a lot of local bands were having problems getting booked for NYE. Blue

Our 3rd public gig with our new guitarist. We're playing The Barley Pop in Germantown, 4:00-7:00. A 20 minute commute. I plan on being home by 8:30. Blue

Wow! I'd love to gig in Hamburg. Blue

New Years Eve is right around the corner. Tell us about what your band has booked. Blue

Off topic, but the Yankee 4 hour 8-12 gig model is getting old. I can't take anything for 4 hours. Punters can't either. By the last set most folks are gone. Blue

I wish we could schedule a 2 hour rehearsal. Blue

"Clean Up Woman" is one of my favorites. Love the way the bass and guitar weave in and out of each other. Everything in the song works. Blue

Thanks Dave, If it's a fun band to be in you've beaten 90% of the battle. I'm a guy from the 60s & 70s. I'm probably 80% enthusiasm, 10 % talent and 10% experience. 😆 Blue

Cool harmonies!! I like your band. Blue

I'm fussier to Dave. I can't settle for mediocre riffs or overall mediocre performance. I want my notes to be heard and I want to play them right. Yeah, I still make mistakes but not the same ones over and over Blue

Gigs are so important to me. All of the new techniques and new riffs I practice at home can only be fine tuned and perfected live. Blue

Nice! My ex wife lives about an hour Noth of London. If we were on speaking terms I'd refer her to one of your gigs. Lol Blue

I played a 4- 7 last night with the 4 piece acoustic version of our band after a Green Bay Packers win , we're 10 and 3. We had a respectable crowd we were on point musically and several people were engaged with us for all 3 hours. No gigs for me until New Years Eve Blue

Hi Dave, It's always great to hear about good gigs. I'm glad you had a good weekend. I was talking to our Band Leader about gigs last night. It's getting tough in my area. She said a lot of bands are having problems getting a New Years Eve booking. Blue