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Gig Updates Saturday, July 29-2006 Billy's Roadhouse: Wexford, Pa. "Lazybones", "Boilermaker", "Looks are Deceiving" and the gig was on. "Loverboy" sounded great in the first set. Always love playing that 30 year old tune, it makes me think of ole friend Frank Zuri and what a bad ass he was and still is. We did a new song "Pennsylvania Rain" for the first time on this beautiful summer night. Everybody seemed to enjoy it, including Whity and Harry who had never heard it before. "Weekend" and "High Times" were well received in the last set. I think we should play Billys Roadhouse more often. Saturday, July 22-2006 Moondogs: Blanox, Pa. We started off this show knowing that asses needed to be kicked. Me, Whitey, and Harry got the opportunity to perform to some new faces and we wanted to make the most of it. By the time we got to "We Come A Long Way" steam was in the air. "Somethins Cookin" and "Burnin Up" opened set two. The club was starting to fill with the blues festival over flow, so I thought the time was right to let the games begin. I sat down and got Izzy up to sing with Jimmy Adler on guitar. Whitey and Harry did a great job on the two jams this lineup did together. David Gogo, award winning Canadian blues artist, dragged his rythm section up on stage next. These guys went right to work, I hate it when musicians sit in and proceed to take 20 minutes adjusting gear, these canuks just started rockin. David played my tiger guiter and was up to the task, a lesser man would have crumbled. Star time, Hubert Sumlin, legendary Chicago blues man, took the stage with Whitey and Harry and a young white kid on guitar. Two or three jams in, Jimmy Adler banged out a tune with Hubert. What a great feeling I had when I got up on stage to play a couple tunes with the man that played with the Wolf. The slow blues we did that night was powerful. Hey, Hubert Sumlin, thank you for coming to the jam and lighting up our lives. Willy "Big Eyes" Smith walked on stage and rocked the house. This man is a living breathing blues machine. Early in his career he was the drummer for Muddy Waters, now a serious harp blowin blues singer. I got the chance to do a few numbers with Willy. Hey, "Big Eyes", thanks for letting me bang a couple with ya, and thanks for showin up, people really enjoy the opportunity to be close to a blues legend. If ya missed dis nite ya missed a great one. Friday, July 21-2006 Moondogs: Blanox, Pa. "Boilermaker" followed "Ole cow died ........... "Somethins Cookin" .......we did a bunch of old tunes in the first set "High Times", "Ready Freddy", "That Girl", "Burnin Up", some ole Fat City folks wanted to hear the ole testament. Local celeb Chuck Koehler got up and sang a great version of "Secret Agent Man", the fans loved it. Pittsburgh's hardest working blues woman Jill West, got up with my crew and shouted "Let Me Love You". She then proceeded to sing a blues song about the meat man. I'm not sure why, but, I seem to get weird feelings every time I've played that song with Jill. I hope we get the chance to do it again sometime. Jill West received a large well earned applause this evening. Gil Snyder of the Mystic Knights got on stage to sing "Shake Rattle And Roll". Had a good time playin with Gil, thought about the ole days when Gil and I lived across the street from one another on Biddle Street in Wilkinsburg. Mister Warren King got onstage with Whitey and Harry and did a genre bending set of punk blues that scared a few folks and turned some others on. W.K. always on the cutting edge, long may he live. We got up and opened set two with "End Of The Line". Jimmy Adler did a slick three song set with my guys. W.K. got up onstage and scared some more folks while also delighting others. "Do ya love da F*ckin blues? W.K. kept shouting. Indeed we love da F*ckin blues. Harry shocked everyone including W.K. when he sang a beautiful version of "Little Wing". Gil Snyder got back on stage and sang "Help Me" and a night closing performance by our gracious host Ron "Moondog" Esser of Bob Dylans "I Shall Be Released" sent everybody out the door with good and fuzzy feelings. I love my job.....job?......... Friday July 21-2006 Pittsburgh Blues Festival: Pittsburgh Pa. Whitey Cooper on drums, Harry Bottoms on bass, Gil Snyder on keys, Phil Brontz on tenor sax, Bob Addelman on trumpet & Chuck Batey on guitar along with the handful.......We opened with "Bulldog", everybody did a couple passes and we was running down the road...........Chuck Batey sang a very cool "Crackin Up" with this white boy reggae beat, I liked it a bunch. Gil Snyder ripped the ole Muddy Waters classic "I'm Ready" as he danced across the stage.....folks was gittin into it. Paul Martino of KDKA jumped on board to sing the Gene Vincent tune "Be Bop a Lu La", Gil Snyder sang some cool b.g. vocals and I played my best solo of the set. Gary Beloma came on stage and lit a fire. He crushed Freddy King's "Love Her With A Feeling" as he got the whole joint off.. Gary then danced his tail off on Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock". It's been a real pleasure playing the Pittsburgh Blues Festival the past few years, thanks to the Food Bank for having us. Saturday, July15-2006 Excuses: Southside-Pittsburgh, PA The first set was a little slow. We tried to get it going, but it took us a while to really start throwin and showin. Set two saw a bunch of folks show up with a whole lotta rockin on their minds. Just what the doctor ordered. "Sidewalk Romeo" has been gitting a lot of response and I guess it's because it's such a cool tune and nobody has played it since The Silencers broke up back in the 80's. "Son Of A Gun" was very well received and is turning into one of our favorite tunes to play. We closed out the good rockin second set with "That Ain't Gonna happen", "I Seen Too Much", then featured Whitey Cooper on the old Gladys and the Pips clsssic-"Use My Imagination". Friday, July14-2006 P.D.'s Pub: Squirrel Hill-Pittsburgh, PA Lottsa young folks at the show tonight. The first set was all Norman songs, just to let da virgins in da house know what they were dealin wit. I told em that what they were hearing was the real Pittsburgh rock. Then a young buck yelled out for a Clarks tune. At that point I had to straighten him out by telling him that before radio decided to appoint those guys safe for the airwaves, someboby had to blaze the trail with music so powerful that it changed everything, and that music was called Pittsburgh rockn' roll. We did a mess of tunes that we haven't done in a while, "Loverboy" seemed to impress the young rockers. I think I scared them when I told them it was written in 1976. Thursday, July13-2006 South Park Pool: Pittsburgh, PA One set only, but we gave it all we had. I called a young buck up to the stage for a pose-down. I had never been to a wave pool before, so when I asked everbody to wave to each other it was an innocent request on my part. I then heard a bell ring and saw all of the waves ripple, it was almost like a miracle. Here's s me, Whitey and Harry without our speedos... Saturday, July 8-2006 Pittsburgh's Grand Hall: Northside-Pgh., PA Really cool event. The joint was crawling with beer snobs. We did two sets and had a few laughs along the way. What's a beer fest if nobody plays a polka, huh? Whitey and Harry were pleased with the large flakens of mead being brought to the stage on a regular basis. Pittsburgh song writer Mike Sweeney was sighted dancing to a Freddy Fender song. A possible first, go ahead sween. Friday, July 7-2006 Moondogs: Blanox, PA Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Lange in da house, we feel your pain. Didn't anyone learn anything from the Bob Prince fiasco........some guys are bigger than the game. Izzy went on stage armed with an acoustic guitar and did a quality opening set. W.K. on guitar, Jay on bass, Bruce on guitar, Whitey on drums kicked shortly before eleven. Gil joined the jam early on. How about W.K. doing lead vocals? After a short break Johnny Marbles chirped a couple with Harry on bass. I played a couple to end set two. I got to sing "Burnin Up" and "Like A Rollin Stone" before the nite closed out. Izzy got back on stage to jam on electric guitar, people dig Izzy. This nite belonged to Warren King. Saturday, July1-2006 The Times Riverfront Stage: Rochester, PA Got a chance to hang with my brother Art backstage before the show. Beautiful setting alongside the Ohio river. These folks wanted to hear the real Pittsburgh rock. We kicked it off with "Boilermaker", then fired up "Somethin's Cookin". I could tell by the looks on peoples faces that we were coming across strong. "Rock n' Roll City" poured off the stage. We sent "We Come A Long Way" to the long time rockers in the crowd. We still had a long way to go as we talked about that night in Memphis when 3 kings were all in town.............enter "Graceland". Everybody was glad to hear "Burnin Up". Slide guitar time; "End Of The Line", "You Go Your Way", I love the feel of glass on steel. "Mr. Right Now" kept folks dancing. "That Girl" closed out a show that really hit it's mark. My complements to Whitey and Harry. These good rockin folks were kind enough to bring us back for an encore so we took em to church with"Sick n' Tired". As we were pulling out of the lot we looked back to the Houserockers on stage covered with a million flying insects.........guess we got off stage while da gettin was good............
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