I'm TRYING to Watch the Game Here!!

The Preachers played  at a new bar in Renton last night, a sports bar that features a gazillion beers on tap.  The joint's kitchen wasn't open yet, so customers had to order food via the phone from the surrounding restaurants, or leave the place, eat elsewhere, then return.

We set up on the bandstand, which is about four and a half feet above the floor and directly behind the bar.  This arrangement put all of our amplifiers at the ear level of the bartenders and wait staff. There was a house PA system that seemed to work fine for the hip hop music played on our breaks, but the mains appeared to be off when the band was playing.  I'm fairly certain that the only PA speaker that was working during our sets was the single floor monitor.

The bandstand.

The view from the bandstand.

I sent posters to the club, which were not in evidence anywhere.  Our gig did appear on the club's website, with a starting time shown as "all day."  The Preachers' name did not appear on the event board inside the club.  All of the big screen TVs were left on (sound off) during the gig, so that the customers would not be distracted by the band, I guess.

Bless the club's heart for hiring us, but the 20-something crowd in attendance couldn't have cared less about the music the Preachers were playing.  It occurred to me that if you want to determine what music is most appropriate for a club, pay attention to the music being played on the breaks.  At this place, familiar hip-hop and current R&B tunes were being blasted at the crowd, who seemed to be familiar with every tune.

I hate to say it, but why not just hire a DJ for this sort of venue?  Just curious!

On the positive side, we did get paid and the staff was helpful and friendly, so it's all good.  I don't think we would be interested in playing there again, though.

You can find out more about the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

Enough already with the exposure...it burns, IT BURNS!

The Preachers have been spending a good amount of time recently fending off promoters and bar owners that would love for us to play for free, or close to it.  For the "exposure," of course.

A gal that has a weekly public access show asked us to play and be videotaped at a new music venue on Seattle's west side.  This gig of hers is always free, and we actually did one of these sessions last year.  The problem is that we have never met a single person that actually saw that specific show, either live or as an archived performance.  Not one.  So we turned the offer to participate down.

However, we did contact the west side club about a possible gig, which precipitated the usual kind of funny back and forth with the club owner.  First, he wanted to know many people on our e-mail list would show up at a gig.  How could we possibly know the answer to that question? So for giggles we told him that 50 percent of the folks on the e-mail list usually show up.   He responded that that's what ALL the bands say, and that very few people usually show up because of an e-mail invitation. Frankly, I agreed with him, but I was curious why he was asking a question that he already knew he answer to?

After hearing our modest compensation request, he told us that he only guarantees "new" bands $125 for the night.  Plus, he only has to pay his most popular band (that packs the place, apparently) $250.  So, we scratched that one off the list too.

Next we were approached by someone that wanted to "live stream" one of our paying gigs on the web. For free, of course.  We discovered that anyone that wanted to watch the performance on the web would have to pay.  We were told that any money collected would apply to the cost of putting the event on the web, and the band would not be compensated.  Thanks, but no thanks!

Finally, Stoop Down's other band, The Market Street Dixieland Jass Band, approached a new club in the Public Market area about a gig.  The deal?  The door, minus $150 for the sound guy! They decided not to play there for some reason

Enough with the exposure already - it's killing us!

You can find out more about the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Preachers' November and December Gigs

Hey, here's what's happening with the Preachers in November and December:

 

11/29 - Jazzbones in Tacoma, WA.  Showtime is 8:00 PM.  $6.00 cover.  This will be our first time appearing at this venue, so we hope  to see some of our Tacoma peeps at this show.  Tickets are available online from the Jazzbones website. 

 

The owner contacted Stoop Down earlier this week and complained that no one had purchased any tickets to the show yet.  We checked the club's web site, and lo and behold, this gig wasn't even on their calendar, how unusual!  It is now, so please buy a ticket, would ya?  We promise to play good for y'all!

 

11/30 - H2O in Anacortes, WA.  Showtime is 7:30 PM.  Located right next door to the Rockfish Grill (same owners), we hear that this venue gets to rocking!

 

12/1 - The Swiss in Tacoma, WA.  Say what?  TWO Preachers gigs in Tacoma on one weekend?  The band will be playing a short set (6:25 - 7:15 PM) at the Friends of the Holidays benefit.  It's a good cause, so be there!

 

 

 

12/6 - Preachers Mike Lynch and Patty Mey will be performing at the Legends of the Blues Concert at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center in Arlington, WA.  Showtime is 7:00 PM.  $15.00 cover.  You can buy tickets online here:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/508572

 

 

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

Some Weber Speakers and a gig at Duff's Garage

I finally pulled the trigger on a quartet of Weber speakers for my reissue Fender Bassman LTD amp.  I chose the 10A100T model speaker, which Weber describes as a clone of the late '50s Jensen P10R.  The main difference between this speaker and the 10A100 Weber speakers that I have bought in the past is that the 10A100T has a ribbed cone whereas the 10A100 has a smooth cone.  Both are 10-inch speakers with one-inch voice coils and are rated at 15 watts of power handling capability.  Alnico magnets, of course.

So what's the difference?  The smooth cone speaker (a clone of the early '50s Jensen speakers) should distort earlier than the speaker with the stiffer ribbed cone.  The ribbed cone speakers should work just fine for me, because I like some speaker distortion, but not tons of it. 

Here's a photo of the Weber speakers installed in the Bassman amp.  Note that, just like the in original Fender Bassman, the magnet covers have to be removed from the upper speakers in order to reinstall the amplifier. 

It is hard to quantify the difference between how speakers sound, but I will try here.  Compared to the reissue Jensen speakers (ribbed cones also, but rated at 25 watts) that this amp was shipped with, I would say that the Weber speakers sound punchier, more articulate, and put out more bass.  From past experience, I am anticipating that the new speakers will develop a nice fat, warm distortion and even more bass output as they break in.

My first gig with these new speakers in the amp was at Duff's Garage in Portland last night.  I found that I had to dial up the Presence and Treble controls and dial back the Bass and Mid controls to get my sound.  I think that this is gonna work out fine.  I sold all four of the reissue Jensens in two days, so it's all good!

Speaking of the Duff's gig, we had fun playing there again, and were glad to see some of our Portland peeps (hi Kristi and Rob!) including Uncle Ray Varner, bassist David Kahl, and harp blowers Arthur Moore and Jim Wallace.  There were some pretty darn good dancers at the gig, including one couple that was doing some great (and unusual, for me to see anyway) Balboa steps.  Here's an example of some freestyle Balboa dancing:

The Preachers at Duff's Garage. Photo created by Lauri Miller.

 

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Second Annual Harp Hysteria Show at the Salmon Bay Eagles

We had a great time playing at the second annual Harp Hysteria show at the Salmon Bay Eagles club last Saturday.

The Preachers did a great job of backing up me, Portland's Arthur "Fresh Air" Moore, and our pal Joe T. Cook.  Joe and his family moved to the Seattle area recently from Minneapolis where he was a fixture on the blues scene for 25 years.

Our thanks to Zab and Eagles for hosting this gig, and all the fans for turning out!  The Eagles has been hosting blues music in Ballard for over 20 years now.  They provide a stage, lights, and a PA system - what a concept! 

Here are some photos from the gig for you:

Let the games begin!

The Portland crew. That's Arthur Moore on the right.

Arthur and Steve Yonck.  Some of Arthur's friends from Portland sat in during his set.

Blues fans Isis and Lauri.  Hi guys!

The Boneyard Preachers with some harp player.  That's my lucky "Nekkid Girl" shirt. Photo created by staff photographer Lauri Miller.

Joe T. Cook and Steve.  Joe is a great singer, harp player, and songwriter!

Joe rockin' the chromatic harp.

That's all, folks!  Joe T. Cook and the Boneyard Preachers.  Photo created by Zab.

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Preachers play the Issaquah Salmon Days Festival

The Preachers played our last outdoor gig this year at the Issaquah Salmon Days Festival last Saturday.  We played the last set of the day, and were on our way home by 6:30 PM.  Unlike our last community festival gig, the sun was out and it was reasonably warm.

See? Sunlight!

The PA was sounding good this day and I noticed that the monitors were being mixed by a guy on an iPad - wireless!  First time I've seen that!

Umm...now let's see, where was I?

I noticed an older fellow standing in front of the PA main speakers that was apparently hard of hearing as he kept cupping his ears with his hands towards the speakers.  He seemed to really be enjoying the band.  Later, he gave a tip for the band to someone in the nearby Washington Blues Society booth.  How much of a tip? One dollar!

Tomorrow night is the Preachers second annual harp show at the Salmon Bay Eagles in Ballard, featuring Arthur "Fresh Air" Moore, Joe T. Cook, and yours truly.  We hope to see you there!

The photos in this blog were created by staff photographer Lauri Miller.

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

Early Warning!! Really Big Harp Show at the Salmon Bay Eagles!

The second annual Harp Hysteria show will occur this coming Saturday, October 12th at Seattle's blues clubhouse, the Salmon Bay Eagles.

The Boneyard Preachers will be backing up yours truly, plus harp blowers Arthur "Fresh Air" Moore (from Portland, Oregon), and our pal Joe T. Cook, a recent transplant to Seattle from the Minneapolis blues scene.

Showtime will be 8:30 PM, and there will be a $5.00 cover for non-Eagles members.  Sorry, there will be no pest...er, guest list for this event.

So come on down and be somebody!

 

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

Patty Mey Update and the Bite of Broadview Show

Patty Mey attended the Preachers' rehearsal last week and two gigs this weekend.  She did a fine job, and didn't seem to be having any problems associated with her recent stroke difficulties. This is good!

However, notice that she is wearing a medical boot in the photo below, taken at the last rehearsal.  She broke a bone in her foot when she went to the hospital (before the stroke) for severe back pain a few weeks ago.  It should take six to eight weeks for that to heal now.  When it rains, it pours, amiright?

Nurse!  Duct tape please!

Also, today the Preachers played at a small outdoor community festival called the Bite of Broadview in north Seattle.  The weather forecast called for heavy rain and 35+ mph winds today, and that is just what happened.  The band that was scheduled to play before us bailed on the gig, since they apparently weren't getting paid anyway.  Sensible folks!

We were schedule to play a 90 minute set, and made it most of the way through, but we finally quit about 20 minutes early.  At that point, I had covered my amp with my coat to keep water out that was making it through the overhead canopy.  And you know what?  Monitors covered with plastic sheeting don't sound very good.

The view from the Bite of Broadway stage.  I see you, Lauri!

After the gig, Lauri, the Dynamic Duo, and I repaired to Nick's Off Market restaurant (we like this place - try the rosemary lemonade) for a late lunch.  While we were there, the neighborhood was engulfed by a torrential rainstorm accompanied by very high winds.  We felt sorry for any bands that were still attempting to play at the Broadview festival, located not too far away.

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

Keep a good thought for Patty Mey

Long time Seattle and Boneyard Preacher bassist Patty Mey suffered an apparent minor stroke late last week.  She was experiencing a severe headache and numbness on her left side when she went to the emergency room.

Patty is back home after a couple of days in the hospital, but is tired and still experiencing the numbness on her left side.  Her doctors say that, barring further complications, she should recover fully in six to eight weeks.

We will keep you posted here on Patty's healing progress.

Patty Mey at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant in Seattle.

Northwest Dance Network and Toys For Tots gigs

Here's the latest about a couple of interesting gigs the Preachers played towards the end of August.

On the 17th, we played a gig for the Northwest Dance Network at the Oddfellows Hall in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.  The Northwest Dance network is a non-profit organization that promotes social dancing events in Seattle plus dance education classes.

We played in the second floor hall, so it was pretty warm up there.  However, there was a pretty good turnout and the attendees seemed to enjoy dancing to the Preachers music.  Some things that we were asked to remember: don't play too loud, mix up the beats, and try to keep the songs about three to four minutes in length.  We hope to be invited back again soon.

Oh yes, a special shout out goes to Lauri for recommending us to the Network.  Who loves ya, baby?!

I brought my camera, but totally forgot about it.  However, Lauri did capture this photo of Steve doing his God of Hellfire routine on the stage just before we went home.

Run away, run away!

On the 24th, we played a Toys for Tots benefit outdoors at the Eagle Haven Winery in little ol' Sedro Woolley.  One of the organizer saw the band play last year and invited us to participate in this event.

We played a one hour opening set for the event headliner, Leroy Bell & His Only Friends.  We were told to bring all of our equipment, but there really wasn't room on the stage for two drum kits and bass gear.  Fortunately, El Machete knew the other drummer and was able to use his kit.  The bass player wouldn't let anybody touch his rig so Patty had to go ahead and set up her gear on stage.

I don't know if we made much of an impression on the assembled well-off charity attendees, but we were paid and enjoyed free BBQ dinners, so it was all good. Here are some photos from the gig (all created by staff photographer Lauri Miller). 

The Preachers taking a beak in the Green Room.

 

Big Daddy rockin' out.

El Machete and the Mighty Mite.  Check out that giant kick drum.

Stoop Down entertaining the masses.

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

"So, where in the heck are your fans?"

I have had this question put to me several times during my "career" in music, usually by an unhappy bar owner as we both gaze upon his (or her) mostly empty venue.

 

Now, I use the word "venue" loosely here.  The word means a place where an organized event occurs.  In many of the joints I have played over the years, it was a miracle that anyone besides the band was in the place because the bar didn't bother to do even the slightest bit of promotion for this aspect of their own business.

Most of these place have been neighborhood bars or sports bars that have had live music bolted on to the business as an apparent afterthought.  Some floor space is allocated for a band by temporarily removing some tables and chairs in the vicinity of the restrooms or the dart machines.  Illumination is provided by the many flat screen TVs that continue to show sports programming during the band's "show."  And a dance floor?  Fuggedaboudit!

We have played at bars recently that didn't have any sort of web presence - no web page, no Facebook page, nothing at all except a couple of accidental Yelp! reviews.  A couple of places did have Facebook pages, with wrong phone numbers and long out of date event postings.  You would think these places would at least provide table tents with the current music calendar for customers to look at, but I don't recall the last time I saw one.

Now the Preachers do the following to promote our shows:

• We let fans know about gigs on our Facebook page.
• We post our calendar on our ReverbNation and band web page.
• We send our calendar to our large (and growing) e-mail list every month.
• Individual band member remind their friends about gigs on Facebook.
• We send posters to the clubs for every gig (hard to quantify if this has any effect).
• Readers are updated about gigs on this blog.

But you know what?  Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, we bomb at a gig anyway.  This usually happens at these places that can't be bothered to create an atmosphere that is conducive to enjoying live music, or doing their part to promote their live music events. Do bars really want to leave the promotion of the live music portion of their business up to musicians?  In some cases, apparently so. Good grief!

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Boneyard Preachers play the Porterhouse Brewfest in Mt. Vernon

The Preachers played a nice outdoor gig in Mt. Vernon yesterday at the Porterhouse Brewfest.  This was a benefit for the Lincoln Theatre downtown. Two other bands also played this gig - Kim Field and the Mighty Titans of Tone, and the CD Woodbury Band.

We played the first set at a little after 2:00 PM. I thought that the band sounded great!  A pro sound system was provided and the sound guys did a good job.  At this kind of gig there is no point in worrying about what it sounds like out front - I figure if I can hear my vocals and amp on stage, it's all good.

Only one speed bump occurred.  My car battery died when I left my four-way flashers on after unloading at the stage.  One of the stage hands was able to give me a jump though, so Lauri and were on our way back to Seattle in no time.

Here are some photos from the gig.  All of these photos were created by Lauri Miller.

El Machete

The Mighty Mite and Stoop Down

Big Daddy

The Preachers at work

 

You can check out the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Preachers play the 907 and a party in the woods.

The Preachers played two dates this weekend: Friday night at the 907 Bar & Grill in Snohomish, and a private party in a backyard in Kenmore.

The 907 Bar & Grill is located on First Street in Snohomish, on a block of popular bars and storefronts.  The 907 is right next to the Oxford Saloon, where a classic rock band entertained a full house.  I would include a link here to the 907, but the club has no web page, not even a Facebook page.  As with the Oxford, the 907 has new owners, so maybe they just haven't had time to get around to creating a web presence.

We did kinda like this sign outside the 907, though...

This is another room that has added live music as an apparent afterthought.  There is no stage, the ceilings are tall, the external walls are made of cinder block, and the floors are all hard wood.  The bands space is arranged so that the band plays directly to the bar instead of the customer tables which are all located to one side.  Did I mention that there are no lights?

See what I mean?  That's Mark Dalton on the bass.

Combine all this with a dirth of customers and it is just about impossible to get the band sound under control in this place.  Oh well, we did get paid, and the staff was super nice, so it's all good, I guess.  A big thanks out to Mark "Tall Cool One" Dalton for helping us out on the bass this night.

Saturday afternoon we played a private party in a backyard in Kenmore.  This was a nice, relaxing, well paid gig.  The neighbors called the cops with a noise complaint after our first set, so we toned it down and made it through the rest of the gig with no problems.  The fried chicken  was good, baby!

Ready for some blues in the woods.

You can find out more about the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Boneyard Preachers play on the Mighty Mouth Blues Show

The Boneyard Preachers played live on the Mighty Mouth Blues Internet radio show last Monday.  You can find and stream this show via the NWCZ Internet radio station on Monday nights from 8:00 to 11:PM Pacific Time.

Jonathan "Oogie"  Richards and "Sweet" Danny Ray are the DJs on the Mighty Mouth Blues show.  Oogie has been a radio DJ here in the Seattle area for years and Danny is also the harp player and vocalist for the popular RoadDogz band

We had a ball playing and being interviewed by the Mighty Mouth Blues dudes.  Keep up the good work, guys!

You can find a podcast of this show here.  Here are some photos from the session:

 

Conrad and Patty

 

Patty and Steve

 

David (aka On1), Oogie, and Danny

 

Conrad, Oogie, Tim, Mike, Steve, Patty, and Danny

You can find out more about the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Preachers Play at the Starday Tavern and Leslie Milton turns 75

The Preachers trekked down to Portland, OR on July 19th to play at the Starday Tavern.  The Starday is located on Foster Road in Southeast Portland, and is owned by the same folks that own the popular Duff's Garage across town.

We had to slog through a 50-mile long traffic jam in Washington, that stretched from the Southcenter Mall to Olympia.  As usual, the backup in the southbound lanes appeared to be caused by people rubbernecking at an accident that occurred on the I-5 northbound lanes.  Once we passed the site of the accident on the other side of the freeway the traffic cleared out.

However, we made it to the club early enough to set up and relax for a little bit before the 9:00 PM downbeat.  The Starday is a small narrow bar with the stage located next to the front door and the front windows. A portion of space at the rear of the club is allocated to video gambling machines.  The club provides a small four channel PA system with flying speakers.

We played a two hour show to a small but appreciative audience that included several of Portland's fine musicians, plus our old friend Ray Varner, and Cascade Blues Association President Greg Johnson (he created the black and white photos below).  A special shout out to our friends Rob and Kristi (and friends) for always coming to our shows.  Thanks guys!

Here's a couple of photos from the Starday date:

Photo created by Greg Johnson

Stoop Down's got the blues!  Photo created by Greg Johnson.

In other news, our friend Leslie "Stardrums" Milton (aka: "Pops" or "The Miltonian Institute") is turning 75 years-old and they threw a big birthday party for him at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant yesterday.  A New Orleans native, Leslie has had quite a career recording with numerous artists in New Orleans and Los Angeles, and playing with many bands in the Seattle area including the Bluestars, the Slamhound Hunters, and Stardrums & Lady Keys.

I could only stay for a minute to wish Les happy birthday, but I did get a few photos while I was there:

Happy birthday, Les!

Eric "Two Scoops" Moore on the rocket 88s.

Guitarist Daddy Treetops with Bassist Mark Dalton and his wife Katha.

You can find out more about the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!

The Preachers play the WBS June Blues Bash - 6/11/13

The Preachers played the the Washington Blues Society's (WBS) June Blues Bash last Tuesday.  Frankly, we were a little ambivalent about playing this gig (it occurs the second Tuesday of each month) because it's a freebie, and Tim and Conrad teach music every weekday night, so they had to rearrange their teaching schedules.

Wait a minute, I shouldn't say that it is a freebie - The tip jar was passed around and everybody took home about $25.  Plus all of the players get a one-year WBS membership, which includes a subscription to the Bluesletter. 

This meeting is held at the Club Hollywood Casino on Aurora Avenue in the Shoreline neighborhood.  We played in the upstairs lounge, which is equipped with a large stage, lights, and a pro sound system and sound guy.  The sound was very good - I could actually hear my voice throughout our entire set!  If you drop by this place sometime, check out the Cadillac limousine parked in the upstairs lobby.

The Preachers leaning, styling, and relaxing next to the limo.  Photo created by the Blues Boss.

Kimball Conant and "Stickshift" Annie Eastwood opened the show with some very good acoustic tunes, followed by WBS announcements and some CD giveaways.  The Preachers then played a 90 minute set to a very appreciative audience including lots of really good dancers.

Kimball Conant and Stickshift Annie.

You can never tell when old friends will show up at a gig.  This is John and Mary Sue Bunch.  Long time Seattle blues nuts will recall that John used to play tenor sax in Nitelife in the late '70s.  John does the Hand Jive better than you do.  Just accept it.

We also booked a couple of other gigs as a result of this performance - a swing dance gig in Ballard in August, and a double bill with the Orbiters at the Highway 99 Blues Club in July, so it's all good!  More to come about those gigs soon.  Here's some more Preachers photos for you: 

Mike and Conrad.  Photo created by Cherie Robbins.

Steve and Conrad.  Photo created by Cherie Robbins.

Patty and Tim.  Photo created by Cherie Robbins.

You can find out more about the Boneyard Preachers here.  See you at the nightclub!