DianeB

Here's a bit of "I Shall Be Released," with Alan on lead and featuring Sprinkles and the Cupcakes: I Shall Be Released.mov

@matonanjin Thank you, Ron, what a sweet thing to say.

If this be trouble, send me more. The run-up to the show saw a week of unseasonably chilly, wet weather, so we postponed to our rain date of the following Sunday. That gave us a chance for one more rehearsal that Friday night, as we hunkered down in Joe’s basement during torrential rain. It paid off. We were ready. Sunday afternoon arrived with brilliant blue skies and a light breeze, perfect for music al fresco. As Joe set up his PA and ran the mic cables, residents trickled in and found their chairs. Jim, who arranged this for his community, consulted with the social committee as tables appeared, then food and drinks. Alan, Amy, Jeff and I busied ourselves with stands, instruments, and tuning. We had multiple acoustics, Amy’s bass, a resonator, 12 string, banjo, mandolin, cajon, and my Strat. I discovered to my dismay that my wireless produced an annoying pulsing sound over the PA, so I had to yank it and replace it with a cable. Pedalboard, A/B box, good to go. I glanced up to see that the trickle had grown to a crowd of more than 40. The tables had sprouted beer and wine, pizza, salads, and cupcakes. I felt a buzz in the air. I fixed my face and walked around to greet some of the residents. To my astonishment, one had worked at DuPont when I did, over 40 years ago, in the building next to mine. We had co-workers in common. A wave of memories returned. The reminiscing had to wait: it’s four o’clock, show time. Jeff and Joe gave me high fives. I surveyed the smiling, expectant faces before me, and we were off. A solid start. On the fourth song, California Dreamin’, I had Denny Doherty’s lead vocal. I counted us in, Jeff and I hit the intro, and I heard my mates come in with the background vocals. I became weightless. Everything, save song and sky, dropped away; I was back in 1965. At the first break, I again took the chance to mingle. I merely said, “Hello,” and their eyes lit up. We poured ourselves out: Amy on “Amie” (of course), Alan on “I Shall Be Released,” Joe on “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” Jeff’s mandolin solos, Jim’s slide licks on his resonator. We didn’t have monitors, so I couldn’t hear the full mix, but Joe reassured me it was all coming out the PA. There were trivial hiccups, but we laughed them off. Did you run that stop sign again? I thought there was another chorus! That’s okay, you do you. During an extended discussion to my left about which key, I explained to the audience (stealing from Neil Young): “There’s an awful lot of math going on up here.” And during yet another, interminable discussion to my left about who has which part, I continued: “This is what happens when you have too many Ph.D.s in the band.” All too soon, Jeff was on the final riff to “Wonderful Tonight”. The G chord faded away. Applause. Joe shut off the board. Handshakes, hugs, smiles. Time for cold beer, cold pizza, and — Hey! Where did those cupcakes go?! Our guests collected their folding chairs and started their short walk back home. As the shadows grew, we coiled up the cables, packed the instruments, and loaded our cars. We raised our glasses in a toast to the music. Amen, brothers and sisters, play it the way you feel it. Left to right: Jim, Jeff, Me, Joe, Amy, and Alan: Brown Eyed Girl.mov Margaritaville.mov Origin of Band Name.mov Wonderful Tonight.mov

It could use a selector switch for all those sound holes.

I bought the Strat from Gregg Cobler a year and a half before he died in 2023. (For those who don't remember Gregg, here he was "Cntryblues".) At the time he was recovering from a serious surgery (sarcoma) to his leg and decided to thin out his collection. He texted me with pictures of three guitars that he was about to take to Guitar Center to see what he could get for them. I had been window shopping for a Strat, and I wanted a California model. "Don't you dare take that Strat to the store," I shot back. "Take it to FedEx or UPS and send me the bill. I'll sell it here if I have to, but I think I'm in love." A few days later, it was on my front porch: a 1999 American Deluxe, and not a scratch anywhere. Practically mint condition. He had replaced the plastic knobs with the knurled Tele style. Sniffles and Trixie approved, making it unanimous.

Maddie, I hope you won't mind us giving a little space to your talented predecessor, Jared Scharff, who held that special seat for years. Only now am I getting around to learning about him. From 2021, here's a profile in Guitar.com. For the best part of four decades, Saturday Night Live has remained one of the most popular and influential shows on US TV. Since the late-night comedy showcase debuted 1975, only five guitar players have occupied the full-time guitarist’s chair in the Saturday Night Live Band....

Into the home stretch. We've rehearsed outside to check the PA system, and today we had a final run-through. Word on the street, so we hear, is of residents looking forward to the show. The 55+ development has 125 homes, so if 25 people turn out, in good weather, I'll be thrilled.