Checker's Acousta Crabby Jam-Crabapples

Checker's Acoustic Jam 9/20/17

The songs that I did tonight:

Switch Board Susan (debut)
If I Were A Carpenter (False Start)
Everybody's Talking (with Lorie Parker on backing vocals)
Tulsa Time (Allen McGrew  played lead guitar, Julie and Donna Jo helped on backing vocals late in the song)
Sundown (with Donna Jo Eisner on backing vocals)
Cinnamon Girl (With Julie Gordon and Donna Jo Eisner on backing vocals)

John played percussion
Ryan Matthew Paul played keyboards and harmonica
Mike Frederick played banjo
Carl Meiners played guitar
Allen McGrew played guitar
Nobody played bass

Julie Gordon and Ryan Matthew Paul were tonight's hosts


Things are starting to open up and looking more like more guitar on acoustic jams n the future  after the surprise debut of The Egads! Saturday Night. So afterwards I inquired about maybe helping out for the Rubies Bar benefit this Saturday in Center Point.  Like Vinton, it's non paying but rather donating time to help out the Rubies Bar owner pay his hospital bills from a freak explosion.  And then Ron LaDood (name changed to protect the innocent) managed to piss everybody off with the above comment.  He's a good musician but he is bi polar to the point that the slightest thing said about him or something other he rails against the world.   I've been told he's on his fifth drummer since starting his band a year ago.  Somehow in the end, I managed to score a slot on Saturday for a 45 minute segment.  Not bad considering I didn't think I was figure into this.

Tonight's setlist I stumbled upon the chords to play Switch Board Susan and did it right off the bat, kinda throwing things off the board. I think I discovered a new song to play now.  If I Were A Carpenter was kinda done as a nod and wink to Carl, who with Donna Jo did the Johnny Cash/June Carter version that song.  Then I just went into Everybody's Talking, and it turned into a duet with Donna Jo as well as Sundown. Tulsa Time was extended so that Allen could do a guitar solo.  Allen has been a part of the acoustic music jams at Whittier and at the Long Branch and Checkers but I did not know his name.  John who has played congas from time to time I don't know his last name either. Eventually after a while and if I do enough investigating, I will eventually come across people's names.

Julie and Ryan both were still fighting the cold so I sang Sundown and excused Julie from doing Gold Dust Woman.  Lorie Parker was in the house so I gave way to her doing her famous Boobieful song and a couple others, before things concluded with Man Of Constant Sorrow. Belinda was there earlier and did her songs and needed some percussion help on It's Been A While so I filled in and she had to go home, 5:30 AM comes way too early and even more so if you have to drive an hour away to Vinton but Mark stayed behind and I showed him how to do Switch Board Susan although he didn't play that song on stage.   Carl in the meantime had to do Your Cheating Heart and a couple others. Women seem to love to shout OH CARL on the bridge part.

I think in terms of playing songs here and there I am beginning to play songs that are more upbeat and not so downworthy. For the second straight performance I did not do any originals  Lorie did bring her congas set for us to play on and she helped on Everybody's Talking.  John played percussion through my song list and that's was fine by me. I'm beginning to find myself wanting people to help me out when I play songs, participation is the key.  I figure if people are there they should be given the chance to play songs and help out. Julie and Ryan are instrumental of helping the music that I play and thus I commend them for being there even though they're fighting colds.   And people love Julie, she's so giving and supportive when she does jams or even plays.  I find myself helping out on drums or percussion, she really doesn't have to do that.  But I'm glad that she does.

On a different note, my guitar playing buddy Steve Black Wolf has been in a depressive state.  He lost his cat a couple days ago and has been so stressed out, that he can't play.  I do feel for him, we lost our cat Callie two months ago and I hope that she did find a better home to stay at.  When you live out in the country, you have to watch out for cars, trucks, tractors, owls, hawks, other cats and dogs etc etc.  Callie was a outdoors cat through and through and wouldn't stay inside very long, she loved the outdoors and got free reign around the yard.  She would only leave it if the neighbor across the road fed her or the Church across the street and chase away other cats from the yard.  I really do hope who has her has given her a loving home as she had here.

I know Steve is going through hell and his other cat Arlo waits by the window for the return of Pete. I hope Pete will come home soon.

I really do.

(photo of Arlo waiting for the return of Pete taken by Steve Black Wolf)