Junction

 
Sunday was Stephanie's birthday celebration at the Junction in Port Angeles, and it was a festive event. As you can see, Ida and Bill were in fine form as were Paul, Gabriel, Bill Jagger and Patrick, all of whom contributed enormously to a great jam. It was one of our best to be sure, and summer on the Olympic Peninsula looms ahead with the prospect of many more great jams/open mikes and live music.

Later this week look for another post about Saturday night's show at the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock with more pictures!We just heard that we get to play the Port Townsend Brewery in August and September.

Don't forget to come to the Seven Cedars Casino in Sequim for our show this Sunday starting at 5:30 PM. We'll have the quintet and there will be dancing!
 
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction]

Live Music on the Olympic Peninsula

Sunday night at the Junction in Port Angeles was full of mostly pleasant surprises. The weather was the more typically gray and cloudy but fairly warm in the early evening. Berry, the resident cat, was inside the bar for most of the night, and most of the "regulars" including Bill and Ida were in attendance and ready to sing and play. Paul, Bill and Ida joined us for "Wagon Wheel" early on and it was so much fun we repeated it later the same night. Bill Jagger was there with his banjo and Stephanie and I accompanied him on "Billy in the Lowground" and "Old Joe Clark."

Later in the evening, Freesound showed up and mentioned that they would like to play a few songs if they could borrow a guitar or two. We gladly came up with a couple guitars and they launched into wonderful versions of "All Along the Watchtower" and "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." Then Kim and Jason, aka Deadwood Revival, walked in and joined them on vocals and bongos. What a treat! People, including Stephanie and Tina, got up and danced. The crowd really liked it so they played a few more songs, including "Stir It Up." A big part of the excitement at a jam/open mike or any live performance, for that matter, is that each night is different with surprises either in the form of new songs, new performers or even the weather.

We're looking forward to this weekend when we'll be at the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock hoping lots of you show up and wear a hat!
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]

Rollin' Waters and Jazz in Blume

On Wednesday we went down to the Crazy Fish in Port Angeles and participated in the Jazz Jam hosted by our friends Tracy Blume and the Jazz Express Band. What a treat for us and what a great audience! Tracy really has a great jam going there and everyone has a good time, both musicians and audience. We played three songs: Wagon Wheel, Fine and Mellow, and Stormy Monday. It was another opportunity for us to play with Tom Svornich, Ray Wood, Jim Rosand and Ed Donahue. Ed and Tom also perform on our demo cd, adding great trumpet and drums. One of the nice things about the Olympic Peninsula with its sparse population is the opportunity to play on numerous with musicians of their caliber. They are truly A-list players by any region's standards.
Last night was fun at the Landings where we hosted the jam/open mike for the second week in a row. Many thanks to Stephanie's dad, Bill Tiderman, Patrick, and Paul for playing with us again. Much larger crowd last night, too! Hope to see you all at the Junction on Sunday.
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction]

Thursday

I forgot to mention in the last post that Rollin' Waters will be at the Landings in Port Angeles Thursday (that's tomorrow) hosting the jam/open mike from eight to eleven. As usual, we'll be at the Junction on Sunday night from 7 to 11.

The Olympic Peninsula has more jams/open mikes per capita than anywhere else in the world. Or, at least it seems that way! At any rate, it sounds assertive, kind of like Stephanie's voice which you will hear if you come on downtown tomorrow night. Hope to see you there.
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction]

Port Townsend

Did you know Port Townsend has an "uptown?" I didn't. That's odd after living on the Olympic Peninsula for twenty seven years. But up the hill is a very cool little business district with the site of our Saturday night gig last weekend: the Uptown Pub. Parking right on the street in front of this little place we started unloading equipment and noticed raucous laughter and hoots from the fifteen or so pub-crawlers just getting ready to board their bus waiting on the street. Yes, they were wearing matching t-shirts. They were definitely having fun and this was their second to the last stop. Unfortunately, they were gone by the time we started playing and as this was a last minute gig, we played to very few people. But they liked us a lot and we hope to play there again soon...maybe for a happy hour or another pub crawl. And next door is Lanza's, which was packed--the menu looked great and the pizza, which you can order through a curtain at the back of the pub by ringing a small cowbell, was quite good.

Colorful characters at the pub really liked our music and were very encouraging. It's so nice to play for appreciative audiences, even when their numbers are few. Stephanie's powerful voice always gets compliments but this group would have stayed up late for more, or so it seemed. "You don't look like a blues singer, but you sure sound like one," said one guy. Another told we should check the Port Townsent Brew Pub downtown. Haven't found it yet, but we'll get there soon.
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Uptown Pub]

Landings

Yes, it's true..we are covering the jam at the Landings in Port Angeles for Kim and Jason, aka Deadwood Revival this Thursday and next Thursday. Looks like the weather should be cooperative on the Olympic Peninsula, or at least in Port Angeles for the next few days so we'll try to play some good weather, spring songs. Hmmm....guess we'll find out what that means. Maybe I'll try a gin and tonic and see if Cindy out west at the Junction has any serious competition.

This just in: we are playing at the Uptown Pub in Port Townsend this Saturday from 8:00 PM to 11:00 or so. Never been there before but it sounds like a thrill!

Stephanie and I have been working on new (old) songs, especially the more obscure Bob Dylan selections. If Miles would ever return my cd we could take a shot at the ashtray song-bet nobody knows what I'm talking about. Yes, it's that obscure, even more so than "Wagon Wheel" that should be posted here soon, or at least a clip of it.

Later this month we play the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock again. I think it's the 27th but Stephanie will correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, we hope to see you at the Landings on Thursday, the Uptown Pub on Saturday, and at the Junction on Sunday.
[Port Angeles]
[Olympic Peninsula]
[Junction]
[Port Townsend]
[Uptown Pub]

Junction and Wailers

Without a doubt, Cindy at the Junction in Port Angeles makes the best gin and tonics I've ever tasted on the Olympic Peninsula. Even the ice was good! Last night was a very good night there with Smitty letting me play his new guitar and a new player, Doug, showing us an old Wailers song, "It's You Alone." I'm talking about the Wailers from Tacoma, not those guys from Jamaica, by the way. The author of that song, Ron something, played a show at the Rainbow tavern in Seattle many years ago, but I don't think he ever played with the original group. What a great song but it never became a national hit to my knowledge although it was played locally a lot. I heard one of the originals players now works in Las Vegas in a retro show. We hope Doug comes back next week as he claims to know three sets worth of songs.

The shoe still hangs proudly at the Junction, and I will tell its story soon.

[Port Angeles]
[Olympic Peninsula]
[Wailers]
[Junction]