Music Abounds on the Olympic Peninsula

Sometimes we need some extra help getting ready for a gig, especially if it's in Port Townsend at a place where we haven't yet performed, like the Port Townsend Brewery. Tomorrrow is our debut and we start at 5:00 PM. Looking forward to it! The beer is good, too!
We recorded a rough copy of "Love Me Like a Man," and plan to finish it up later this week if all goes according to plan, which rarely happens. But it's usually best to plan optimistically. Then, on Sunday as always, we're back at the Junction for the open mike/jam starting at 7:00 PM. Speaking of the Junction, one of the most delightful night spots on the Olympic Peninsula and in Port Angeles, here is a recent photo of some of our jammers.
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]
[folk/blues]
[guitar]
[northwest]
[Puget Sound]

You Want Johnny Cash at Your Wedding?

In the old days, everybody wanted the "Wedding Song." Thanks be to god those days are over! Apologies to Paul Stookey, but I'm still sick of that song. Fortunately, we've been asked to learn some different songs for this summer's weddings, including "You Belong to Me" made famous by Patsy Cline. It turned out well enough that we use it in some of our non-wedding shows. But I never would have guessed someone would want a Johnny Cash song during the wedding ceremony itself. Maybe the reception when people want to dance or hoot and holler, but in front of Grandma and Uncle Fred? Very surprising but not altogether unpleasant either. In fact, it turns out that some of those Cash songs are actually a challenge to learn, much to my surprise. Thus, Luther Perkins gets even more respect from this guitar player. Looking forward to this next wedding. We get to play both the ceremony and reception at the Wildfire restaurant.

And now the weather has cooled on the Olympic Peninsula, and you have to watch out for foggy conditions coming back from Seattle as you climb Walker Mountain after the Hood Canal brigde. Everybody complains about the extra summer traffic on the Peninsula, but compare that to I-5 during rush hour(?)in Seattle or Tacoma or anywhere on the west side of Puget Sound. It so much better to take Metro after walking off the ferry in downtown Seattle. A few weeks ago I had some extra time on a routine visit to see my dad who lives down south in Burien. Figuring it would take at least an hour to bus to his place I planned accordingly for a leisurely bus trip. But after call Metro and being directed to a really fast express bus it only took fifteen minutes to get from second and Marion to his place in Burien. Astonishing! Pray for subways and light rail! More about public transportation in later posts.

So tomorrow we take the new teachers to lunch at Cafe Garden. Maybe some of them sing or play the guitar (it's a fairly safely bet) and I can convince them to come down the Junction in Port Angeles for the open mike/jam Sunday nights starting at 7:00 PM. Stephanie and I continue to work on new songs and plans for a podcast right here on this site. Stay tuned!
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]
[folk/blues]
[guitar]
[northwest]
[Puget Sound]

How to Have Fun on the Olympic Peninsula in August

The first thing to consider is the Rollin' Waters jam/open mike at the Junction in Port Angeles. Next, if you haven't already made plans to do so, get down to the Clallam County Fair on Sunday, August 20th at noon to see our show on the new Wilder Stage. Stephanie have worked out some new songs we're eager to play this weekend. Should more weekend stimulation be needed, get down to the Port Angeles Farmer's Market on Saturday starting at 10:00 AM where we'll once again perform. We had a very busy weekend last at the Sequim Open Aire Market and at the Studio Tour on Bainbridge Island (see pic above). Then on Sunday we played at the Forks Family Festival and that was fun, too. Lately the Junction has been hopping! Lots of jammers as well as appreciative audiences. Jason, of Deadwood Revival, dropped by and helped us out with Neil Young's "Old Man" on guitar. Joe, Johnny, Bill Tiderman, Ember and others joined in for some more good music. What a treat for us to be joined by so many of our fellow musicians on the Olympic Peninsula.

And so it goes, you don't have to look too far to have fun around our neck of the woods.

We're also fixin' to record some of our live shows and jams at the Junction. If any of you have ideas for the best ways, or easiest ways to record live audio, please respond in the comment section. Your help will be appreciated!
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]
[folk/blues]
[guitar]
[northwest]

How Old is that Gibson in Guitar Years?

This is a shot from Port Angeles photographer, Dave Logan, at Melissa's and Devin's wedding reception last Saturday. Todd and Tom really helped us out with getting people on the dance floor and generally rocking out all afternoon. Tom even doubled as MC for the various reception activities such as the cutting of the cake and the tossing of various wearables. It was a memorable event for us and, hopefully, for the bride, groom and families. Oh yeah, they said they liked our music!

Not sure what's wrong with the weather out here on the Olympic Peninsula, but it's already foggy in the morning, kind of like Fall in August. Oh well, the summer winds down fast now anyway, and the forecast is for great weather over the weekend.

It could be a somber event at the Forks Family Festival with all the bad news about a fallen soldier from out there and the extensive local news coverage about effect on the family and local community. But maybe we can offer some healing tunes and entertain people to some good effect. Hope so.

Meanwhile, guitar strings have been changed, a new thumbpick has been found, and the guitar has been cleaned up, at least a bit. It's amazing how lasting guitars, good ones, that is, really are. Our audience often gets reminded that my guitar is older than Stephanie. How long do guitars last anyway? People talk about "dog years." Can there be something like "guitar years?"
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]
[folk/blues]
[guitar]
[northwest]

Lessons in Proper English

So I received some lessons in “proper English” from my friends Alby and Richard in Australia and England, respectively. Apparently, one should refer to BS as “rubbish” and never as “trash,” for instance. I can’t wait for the next lesson. (They don’t know that in real life I’m a school teacher..hehe). Richard was surprised I wasn’t wearing a baseball cap…quintessential Port Angeles head gear.

After a wonderful weekend playing the reception at the Red Lion in Port Angeles for Melissa and Devin’s wedding, there was an opportunity to see our drummer, Tom, play with a jazz quartet, and what a treat! Having never been to the old town section of Silverdale, we now have a bead on more music venues for future gigs. After hearing Lee Pence use it to great effect, I will have to get a tremolo unit or finally change the worn out tubes in my ’66 Bandmaster and plug in at the next opportunity.

This weekend will be even busier with the Open Aire Market in Sequim on Saturday, Bill’s party on Friday night, the Forks Family festival on Sunday at 2:00 PM and the Junction later that evening.

Hood Canal oysters are still closed. Apparently the eighty people now reportedly sick from ingesting the creatures did not drink wine with the meal as advised by Ronald over at Cornichon.
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]
[folk/blues]
[Hood Canal]

How to Save Money on Weddings

First of all, don't tell anyone you want to save money on your daughter's wedding! For crying out loud--you don't want the cousins to think you're cheap. However, unless you want to wimp out and hire a dj, you can still get live music, which everyone know is better, and still have enough left over for the cake and flowers. Start by looking for a local band, say "Rollin' Waters," if you live on the Olympic Peninsula. They are really reasonable and you can negotiate with them. Furthermore, they are experienced! This summer alone they booked four weddings within two summer weeks. If you don't live on the peninsula you are not completely out of luck. Rollin' Waters will travel unless you live in Spokane or Denver, or some other silly place. In that case, check a local music store and ask they guy that doesn't any piercings or noticeable tattoos if he can recommend a local band for the wedding. It really is that simple. All about knowing who to ask. Rollin' Waters has so many wedding gigs this summer that I've had to give jobs away to other guitar players and bands, and there is some real satisfaction in knowing that we're sharing some work with our musical colleagues.
Don't forget to read John Nelson's column in Thursday's Peninsula Daily News to find out about all the musical happenings on the peninsula. Even if you don't like music, it's a good read because John's a fine writer, and sometimes in these long summer months one struggles to find enough good reading material. On the other hand, avoid the teacher bashing letters to the editor on the opinion page. Some of those are murder and enough to make one want to write a protest song!
One more thing, if you're hesitating to eat the oysters from Hood Canal, read the article over at Cornichon. It might help you enjoy some of our local restaurants.
[Port Angeles][Olympic Peninsula][Junction][Port Townsend][Ajax Cafe]
[live music]
[folk/blues]
[Hood Canal]