Notes_Norton

They can't walk out on us!

We don't play for free. It's our business. Well actually there are a couple of exceptions: For a charity event IF nobody else is getting paid and IF it isn't a profit making gig disguised as a chairty The VA. Once every couple of years we go to the nursing home at the VA hospital about 50 miles away and give the vets in the wheelchair nursing home area a free afternoon of music.

The oldest guy at the nudist camp is in his mid 90s. Definitely in his Shar Pei years. Actually, it's a fun gig with young and old, and after the initial orientation, it seems quite normal. I still think that I look better with my clothes on though.

Joe Henderson -- Black Narcissus

Leoš Janáček - Sinfonietta

You can just come and hang out

Bicycle Song - Orbit The colors of the covers match too!!!

For the nudist camps all you need is your birthday suit (actually we wear minimal clothing for that). For the yacht& country clubs, sometimes a tuxedo, sometimes suit and tie, sometimes Hawaiian shirt. Same for the retirement developments. Here in South Florida it's a big market. Many more of these hiring bands than night clubs. Of course they are one-nighters so we get to move gear a lot. But then I get to lift heavy things without paying for a gym membership ;) With setup and tear-down every gig they make for longer jobs but if I can bag 2 a week I can make as much as I can 5 or 6 nights in a club. I the winter we do 3-5 a week, in the summer we're lucky to get 1 or 2 a week. But that gives me time to write aftermarket software plug-ins for Band-in-a-Box. Plus I'm doing this with my wife/lover/best-friend. I met her when we were in different bands, both broke up at the same time so we did a trio and a 5 piece band together. Then due to personnel problems in 1985 I bought my first MIDI sequencer, started making my own backing tracks, and we've never looked back. We did cruise ships and night clubs for the first few years. Then we got a house-gig band for a year at a Yacht club, and that spoiled us. We also just learned Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark", played it last weekend, and it went over really well. I like singing and playing the sax on that one so it's good for us too. Next? Perhaps Katrina and the Waves' "Walking On Sunshine". Thinking about it anyway. Notes

"Space Cowboy" - Steve Miller Band

Waiting for Waits - Richie Cole w/ Eddie Jefferson on vocals & Manhattan Transfer on backing vocals A nice tribute to the great Tom Waits.

We just learned that song. Making the backing track was a bit of a challenge but it turned out well. I know, it's about time we learned that one. When you gig for the yacht club, country club, retirement development audience, the requests are a little behind the times. When we started playing that crowd in the mid 1980s, it was Big-Band Jazz, Frank Sinatra and you couldn't even sneak in an Elvis Presley song. But those folks are gone now, new people enter the "over 55 year old" group, and so we are still learning 20-40 year old songs for the incoming group along with a few pop crossovers to that market. It seems that the over 55 group wants to hear songs of their youth. Nothing wrong with that, there are good songs written in every era (and bad ones to, but the good ones are mostly the ones that last through the decades) It's a good gig. With the night clubs going to karaoke, open mic nights, sports on TV, and DJs, I'm glad I moved into this market when we did. We're established and still gigging steadily. It's a fun way to make a living.

Which is my favorite Tchaikovsky symphony? Either 4, 5 or 6 and Masur does it better than most.

Space Is The Place - Sun Ra and his Arkestra Definitely someone who wasn't afraid to be different

My older sister was a big Elvis fan. She bought this LP and as a very young sax player, I heard the sax solo and it was like lightning struck. I didn't know it was the blues, but I knew I wanted to play that kind of music. I later heard the original Lowell Fulson cut, and it was nice, but IMO the Elvis Presley cover was much better. Notes

One of my all-time favorite classic blues singers. Especially his early stuff on the "Duke" record label. Cry, Cry, Cry - Bobby "Blue" Bland

Amish local music stores where you can try out saxophones before you buy them.

Amish my car, Amish my electricity, Amish my modern conveniences, and Amish living in a sub-tropical climate so I'm moving back to FLorida.

Reconsider Baby - Elvis Presley Originally by Lowell Fulson, but I think this tops his version. A great blues performance with IMHO one of the greatest 12 bar blues (times 2) sax solos on record. And when I found out it was by Boot's Randolph, it totally changed my opinion of that man.

96 Tears - Question Mark & The Mysterians (Sorry about that, but it's an association. We gigged opposite those guys in the 1960s, and to tell the truth, they were better than that record. The title was supposed to be 69 tears, but it was nixed due to the sexual connotations. They hid their names for fear that being Mexican/Americans would hurt sales.)

Grilled burgers today, but not with becan. Cheese, but no becan. Tis a shame. Perhaps next time. Learned two 'old' songs yesterday and today. Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" and Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian". I made the backing tracks last week. I think they turned out well. After over 500 backing tracks, I'm starting to get decent at it. I deserve some becan after all that hard work. And when we get on our next gig this week, we'll bring home the becan. It's a good way to make a living.

I think it was Mark Twain who said something like, "When the end of the world comes, I'm going to Cleveland. Everything happens there 10 years later."

Make Us Blind Echo & the Bunnymen

"Ain't That A Bitch" - Johnny 'Guitar' Watson Johnny left us too soon, but he left us a lot of fun tunes

I'd do it more but I'm afraid it would get stuck :D

The Dolphin - Stan Getz Nice, cool school music for a Sunday morning.