I don't know why I even bother

[Gary Blanchard]

Another update and hopefully positive development.
Last night I went to see Don Was and the Pan Detroit Ensemble, great show btw, they played the entire Blues for Allah album straight thru with KILLER jazz arrangements. Prob the best Slipknot Ive ever heard, GD performances included. He also had one of the best horn sections Ive ever heard not to mention that gal who sings her lungs out.
Anyhoo.... me and my GD duo partner met this mandolin player in the lobby who was very excited to play with us so we'll probably be checking him out very soon. We've kinda been missing a lead instrumentalist and hoping we could find a good mandolin player. We tried one guy who was really good but he was way too much of a bluegrass traditionalist and couldn't really grok the tunes. This guy seems to be on the same page
so things are looking up! Fingers crossed. Now if we can just find a drummer or percussionist with some dynamics and taste we could really have something great and unique.

I just discovered the Don Was group doing Franklin's Tower; the group was great and the singer blew me away. Too bad they aren't scheduled near me.

The open mic I go to has a core group of musicians that will jam with anyone that wants them to sit in. It includes three percussionists. I think we cornered the market. I hope the mandolin player works out.

 

[Pine Apple Slim]

Well the mandolin player was a bust. Evidently he had a track phone and his device contract ran out. Never heard from him again. He was either talking sht or he's broke or in jail. Still looking for the right percussion.

I gave the Eagles Club Jam another chance and have kinda settled into it and learned to make it work. Every jam isn't great but there have been some decent ones. Ive reconnected with a few old friends so it seems like perhaps Im regaining some sort of social life and making some musical connections as well.
Im actually getting to use some of that excess gear. I get to play electric guitar and take some lead breaks. Im working on getting the words down to some simple well known tunes that I can contribute vocally. Thats been slow because my "solo" repertoire is pretty obscure, but I'm practicing 3-4 tunes that they can pick up quickly and are sorta familiar. Jams like this always benefit from more singers bringing new songs but they cant be too hard to pick up quickly.
I even play bass for ol obnoxious Cowboy Randy on the back deck for an hr or two..... if Im not too tired and he isn't too drunk to tolerate, lol.
So far no politics so it's been pleasant for the most part, or tolerable at the least.
The Dead duo has started playing there once a month for tips on wed nights, 2 one hr sets, as background music for the card players. We make our gas money and a few beers on the deal. They like us even tho most dont even realize we're playing GD, just a nice unobtrusive acoustic sound. At least it gets us a 25-30 people audience with half a doz genuine listeners, and one actual Deadhead thats thinks we are the coolest sht ever.

 

[Pine Apple Slim]

There have been minor annoyances but Im trying to not let them get to me. Biggest one so far was when I started bringing my own stand/tablet/mic to start singing a bit, and my old Roland AC60 amp to use for my vocs out back w/Cowboy Randy. Recently theres been this sorta younger 20 something dude showing up that has a really powerful voice and the crowd loves it. He was beating on a cheap ac unplugged so I loaned him the AC60 and let sing thru my mic and use my tablet for a couple of songs. But then the SOB just took it all over like Id loaned it to him as his personal rig for the rest of the evening. The decision to loan him the amp was annoying enough because he dont play that good. But commandeering my mic, stand, and personal iPad like it was his free personal teleprompter for the whole evening was a bridge too far. Bring your own electronics, write em down, or memorize the lyrics you want to sing, and if you want an amp and a mic bring your own. So next time I quit bringing any of that stuff and he had to sponge off somebody else. Cowboy Randy The Entertainer was his next victim who loaned him a spare ac amp. But dude let the jack come loose and fall out of his cheap guitar. Randy has ragged his ass relentlessly because he brought the extra amp the next week and the dude didn't fix his guitar. He still hasn't fixed it 3 weeks later and ol Cowboy won't let up on his ass for either being too dumb to fix it himself or too broke to get it fixed, I think he suspects the kid is thinking ol Randys gonna loan him a spare guitar thats a better instrument so he dont have to fix it. Junior is gonna learn that he's either gonna have to supply his own rig, or just come up and sing a couple numbers and then go sit his ass down.
Nobody is gonna volunteer their equipment for his free use and convenience just because he has a good voice.