When selfies go wrong and you literally only get half the band in the photo.
We had to cancel our gig at "the pigeons" tonight but Joe and myself (well actually it was at Joe's suggestion) felt it was only proper to go to the show and support the "other" band on the bill that night with us, namely the Band of Others.
We shared a table with friends of the band and bandmates of ours from various projects Carl and Brian.
The Band Of Others performed three sets and being the only band on this night bravely sallied forth. A true to the original combo of Surf Rock hits and original music. They opened the evening with "Coney Surf".
Joanne and Madonna getting in on the waviness of it all. Were they doing the Swim, the Hully Gully, the Freddie or just the Mashed Potato.
Joe and my Drinx.
Brian to the rescue.
Unfortunately Bobby Other popped a string on his stage guitar And spare guitar during the set and Brian volunteered to change out the string, here he is seen diligently at work in the Pigeons back room getting it done.
The Drum Kit was comprised of a hybrid of half Ludwig and I actually don't recall the other brand even though I did ask.
A Pollo o tinga Burrito from Panchos now renamed Coszcal de Allende from down the block. I brought this home for Cristina and I to share and since she is not a fan of Sour Cream I had to perform open rice surgery on it as you can see from the photo above so she could have some too.
One fine day Joe Yegg set out to upgrade his rehearsal/gigging kit with a few pieces of needed equipment. First he came upon the drunken frog who only blurted "Yelp" and sought to teach him crane style but Joe retracted that he was searching needed musical gear so the frog let him go.
Then upon his journey Joe reached the jumbly rumbly Rainbow Bridge but there was no jumbly rumbly Rainbow aloft so he inquired with the troll who was the bridge keeper and super of the building. Joe asked "where may I find a Music shop to amend my equipment search ?" the Troll blurted "Yelp".
Joe found himself on sixth avenue in Greenwich Village (as it was in the 70s) and came across Dee Dee Ramone sniffing glue from a bag after his seventy five cent Falafel meal and inquired "oh where, oh where might I find a music shop".
Dee Dee blurted "yelp" and directed Joe to the Guitar Center on 14th street and said Spike would be standing outside.
Spike awaits Joe as a signpost outside Guitar Center.
And Joe did acquire his needed gear, oh yes he did.
The PDP Cymbal stand, perfect for supporting the bashing or ringing out on a steady Cymbal wash for those quiet parts and all that business.
Yamaha products have never let me down nor do they the troll under the bridge.
Note the shiny newness.
Lovely it is. It's a Joy.
The sturdy Yamaha Snare Drum stand.
The Snare Drum being the most important piece of the Orchestra to get those tootsies movin' and a groovin'.
Joe after his sojourn, Danelctro in hand.
Thomas on the Telecaster.
Spike selfie, Marimba in hand.
Beware the Drum Kit on the jumbly rumbly bridge or elsewhere.
This project as yet unnamed (even though I am pushing "The Red Peckers" as the bands imprint and inherent name) is really Carl's baby and brainchild focusing on the Harder edge of things and Tunes to get those feet moving and perhaps in the near future MOSHING.
Pictured above is the Guitarist's (since as a Drummer I am alone and speaking a different language) figuring out that elusive chord structure to the Black Sabbath tune "The Mob Rules".
Our Singer could not make it to this rehearsal but we got down to "figuring out" the tunes in question which shall only hasten the process once we get down to working proper at full speed, yes we had a few Beer's but aside from the Bread Loaf (pictured below) we did not break for lunch. Hey we are still youthful, no time for Prune Juice just yet.
Worked on as an ensemble today was our beginning repertoire as a band comprising 4 out of 5 tunes.
Livin' After Midnight - Judas Priest
The Mob Rules - Black Sabbath
Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie
We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
Our fifth number "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer at which I initially scoffed at was the deal breaker and we needed more time to get into that Groove, next rehearsal and it shall be Bubbly and Fine.
As an unplanned tryout at which we did succeed was the KISS tune "Strutter" that we all knew, all except for our Bass player Joe that is and lickity split he learned the Bass line of the tune in three minutes and ten seconds which is two seconds shorter than the actual tune itself.
Yes I was amazed and pleased.
HE of the Jackson Axe.
HE of the Gibson Axe.
HE of the Ibanez Axe.
HE is asked to sing "Under Pressure" (for rehearsal only).
HE is NOT a singer.
They say Art Imitates Life.
In this case it is Bread Imitates Art Imitating Life for this BLOG and a Goofy Facebook photo.
We were "parked by the pig" and even with the winters egress of snow floating towards the ground there was no chance not to find "Rosie" The Car to get us back home to our loved ones, a steaming cup of hot cocoa and that leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving 2013.
Yes my dear brothers (and sisters too), The Yeggs almost became a Duo but fortunately (for myself) this did not come to pass. They probably would have sounded better as a Duo but those Drummer's hang on.
Dont They.
While this entry does not particularly suit the jovial and musical climate of this page, to me it was a Yeggs event so much so that I manufactured our first monickered portable urinal (see photo above) that we are now testing out on select audiences (the product not the act of discharging) for possible future promotional deals and purchase at the merch table.
The Yeggs rushed to my side even though I tried to keep my condition hush hush but word gets around this town quickly. Joe got me a bunch of Chinese Food and Thomas gave me "travel size" underarm deodorant and mouthwash (just what was Thomas trying to tell me). A few days later Joe & Jennie showered me with books to borrow and a full outfit consisting of Robe, Slippers and Pajama's, which has actually changed my life in a leisurely "at home, at rest" sense. Mister Franklin Poska even came by for a visit completing the circle in Yegg solidarity.
Next Stop is Recording.
Rockin' the Grizzly Adams look.
I wanted to take "goofy hospital pics" of the boys in the band but what with all the hubbub and nonsense, not to mention the raiding of the "nourishment center" to procure bedside fruit juices for myself (and a pitcher of ice) we forgot to take any and then like a Yegg riding into the sunset they were gone.
Christina popped this photo of me a day or two later. Its always unsettling to see the "name tag" outside of the hospital room door but even moreso when its yourself.
Once again it is that time of year when Joe Filosa throws his annual birthday bash and graciously invited us down to be part of the roster of bands celebrating the anniversary of his birth.
As usual everyone had a Blast and this is one of the rarer Gigs where you can witness tag-team Drummers, not mid song mind you but everyone gets a chance.
I for one got to Jam with Normal (along with Joe Yegg) and a cast of Musicians of whom I never got to catch their name (for a fifth time, since I am terrible with names) and banged two drumsticks together during DLS' unresistable version of "I'm A Man"
Joe Yegg, That "two penny" whore played with every band on this night.
He made eight cents or even more, That Bastard.
Joe Filosa and myself.
Why can we never get a photo in focus and lit well thus far, we must be vampires.
DLS with our very own Joe Cacciola sitting in on Bass Guitar for the second weekend in a row. I Love these guys.
Once a Yegg always a Yegg.
Of note we had the 3JP Dancers up on the floor. From my vantage point as well as being myopic and removing my eyeglasses prior to our performance I missed it all but they were dancing at the back of the bar and finally sashayed up during our set and were in full swing is the word on the street.
You Go Girls !!!.
We played a nice tight set and redeemed ourselves from our "sloppy" set the weekend before (a fist fight did break out mid-set which tends to distract from the attention span of performing musicians though), however I must take blame. You are not a good Band without a good Drummer.
Not tooting my own Snare, just saying, at least I was OK tonight.
Tuning up.
A quintessential part of not sounding like "Bloody Hell" on stage.
Joe Filosa's wife Patti once again dazzled us with her homeade cooking.
Sliced Beef, Ziti, Meatballs and a Sweet Potato Stew with Peanut Sauce. Not sure of what that is in the upper right hand corner (or the upper left hand corner if you were standing at the table). Of course there were many Cakes and Eggplant Pizza as well as what I think was Sfincione but I had to exit early due to an engagement the next day. I did take my last few bites of Eggplant Pizza along with me so as not to insult its Foodie Goodishness.
PIZZA IN A CUP.
"All I need are these Drumsticks,... and this remote control,... thats all I need"
As always, once again a night of frolic and cavortment with our closely knit musical family of friends and fellow bands at the Three Jolly Pigeons. I began touting this as a Sub-Basement Blues Band reunion a day before the gig as The Good Yeggs would be performing quite a few S.B.B.B. oldies (classics) on the night but most important was that Franklin would be sitting in with us completing the quartet in the photo above.
Pictured above (L to R top row) is Bruce Springsteen, Keith Emerson, Carlos Santana and
(front row) - Tim Curry.
I personally had a "crappy" gig what with the untested Bass Drum pedal I was going to give Joe being a "piece of crap" and not utilizing my DW 5000 pedal AND what with the Cymbal stand untightening and giving the single Crash Cymbal an improper angle AND what with the me feeling completely under the weather and performing better at rehearsal just hours prior AND what with me having to remove my glasses from my face during the second number in fear for them falling as they kept slipping off AND what with me bringing an unadjustable eyeglass sports strap that glued my glasses to my face so tightly I was in fear of cracking them rendering it useless.
And then a fight broke out.
As my glasses were off I could barely catch a glimpse of what was going on but heard a ruckus and saw what looked to me a wave of people traveling from my right across the front of the band. Joe rushed over to the front table where his wife Jennie was seated along with friends and Thomas' wife but he was Protecting Tom's 77 year old mother in case these hooligan ruffian's might fall atop her, thankfully the melee was quashed by the bouncer and patron's before it escalated to a major level.
Photo taken by Charlie on his cellphone, dark but good framing.
3JP is a dark place with no stage lighting.
Joe with his Danelectro and quality physique.
Thomas having a good time and goofing around Beatlesque style whilst sporting a snazzy new "Stormtrooper" t-shirt..
After the fight he delivered the line of the night to the crowd over the P.A. (public announcement) system.
"Now you can say I went to see the fight and a band broke out"
Some crappy Drummer having a bad night.
Our V.I.P. of the night making this The Sub - Basement Blues Band.
Mister Franklin.
Who Let These Bums In Here.
D.L.S (Dillon, Lane Syndicate) Rocking it out. I truly love this band. During their set Brian promoted next weekends celebration concert for Joe Filosa's birthday expounding that Joe's wife makes the best "Yeggplant Parmigiana".
That Brian sure has a way with words.
Phil (Drums), Sal (Guitar), Brian (Guitar, Emcee & Vocals), Robert (Guitar), Sylvester (Vocals)
and on this occasion our very own Joe Cacciola on Bass.
I tried but could not get a photo with everyone in it.
(L to R) - Phil, Sal, Joe & Brian.
I'm digging that Asia shirt Sal.
Band Of Others performing Surf Rock and Party standards. Great bunch of fellows too as they helped us load up our gear into Tommy's car which is not the most common practice.
As a side note their Drummer Dan and I are both major fans of the Drummer Hal Blaine amongst others.
The DLS ad campaign.
A photo from March 18, 2010
Taken after a recording session of which we recorded the track "Coney Island Summer" (posted below) for inclusion on a Box Of Crayons "New York" themed CD compilation.
Thanks to D.L.S. and MC Too Tall who was tending bar this evening for inviting us down.
Our night began in classic fashion as Thomas' car got "tapped" from behind while pulling up to drop off two amplifiers but the offender insisted on filing a police report as opposed to simply exchanging insurance numbers, so much for us being the opening act and we were postponed for well over an hour.
D.L.S. went on first in lieu of the legal activities proliferating outside.
Sylvester (Vocals), Brian (Guitar), Sal (Guitar), Rob (Guitar), Andy (Bass), Phil (Drums).
I was listening from outside but whenever a band performs "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (and many do) I always listen to the Guitar solo for the nuances and Rob nailed it.
From London, England. Steve White with Phil on Cajon and Brian Dillon on Guitar.
Joe taken from my viewpoint as we had no photographer.
Sylvester (D.L.S.) was kind enough to post some photos on "Facebook" as it happened. And happened it did, premiered tonight was the Levi Presley hit "Dont Be Cruel".
The New York Mets beat the Dodgers 3-2 during our set and much Ballyhoo ensued but Joe obliged with kind and knowing sarcasm thanking the crowd for all the applause. We were asked for an encore which was the B.B. King/Lucille Bogan standard "Sweet Little Angel".
Tommy Roberto ready to Rock after the automobile mishegash was cleared up.
"BOY !!!"
Looking more and more like Angus Scrimm, the "Tall Man" from the film Phantasm.
The Pocket Monster. Bop Monroe (Guitar and Vox), Brian (Bass), Eugene (Drums).
Eugene has a unique style of double traditional sticking of which I asked him about after their set, he also provided the Drums which was a tiny, short kit with a thin TAYE Bass Drum and it was a slight challenge to perform on but it was fine.
Eugene and I flanked by a photo bombing Bop Monroe.
Its Only Rock & Roll But I Like It.
Sidelines serves HUGE Pint glasses of Blue Moon or Budweiser but I can swear these are 20 ounces if not more.
Post Gig one a.m. Dinner at the Bridgeview Diner.
Joe and Thomas had Eggs Over Easy and Eggs Over Well.
I had the traditional Cheeseburger Deluxe.
We all had Gravy on the side.
My bandmates stole my large Onion Ring, The Bastards.
