3-dollar-holler

A weekend of music

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:15:38 +0100

This weekend saw a rarity in our young band's life ... Two (count them, 1 - 2) gigs in 2 days.

Friday found us at our home-base, Serenity Station in Seven Valleys. Things were looking fairly bleak early on. That statement describes both the weather (hard rain) and the outlook inside - not a soul in the room. But Serenity is a fun place to play music as the room just has great sound. So in the interest of limbering up for Saturday, we gave it a go and decided to play some tunes for ourselves & the Serenity crew. There's something to be said for pressing forward - in no time at all the first patrons of the night walked in, followed closely behind by more. Things were looking up!
Now, to be clear, the numbers remained light all night. It was not exactly standing room only. But we had a great crowd in the folks that showed. This one will definitely go down in the "good time had by all" column. Our thanks to those of you who made the trip out on a such a nasty night - we had a blast.
Our next show at Serenity is in December - get the snow tires out....

Saturday put us on the road for a long-haul all the way to Harrisburg as one of the acts for the Susquehanna Folk Music Society's Fall Coffeehouse. What a great night! We played to a huge crowd (in our estimation - our host Ralph told us it was actually a light turnout) all of whom were music lovers. The mood in the room was downright electric. We're pretty sure we made it through our set unscathed, but to be honest it was a bit of a blur. We're so thankful for the opportunity to have played for these folk and look forward to returning.
Perhaps the highlight of the night for us was to be there in the audience for the other performers. We witnessed some amazing talent. There was Mark DeRose - whose performance was downright captivating. Mark has to be one of the best songwriters in the region, and what a great guy to boot. We heard some killer bluegrass & old-timey folk tunes from the Stringtown Trio and met new friends Mark & Kathie Rickart. And, we were blown away (as was everyone in the room) by Seasons - a family band (all sisters) out of Harrisburg. Their version of Coldplay's Clocks, with 2 sisters playing harp and another the hammered dulcimer, was incredible.
SFMS is a great organization that does so much to bring music to our area and support local musicians. Our thanks to Ralph and everyone in attendance for such a fun night.
-3DS

1st Thursday in July meant 1st timers @SS Open Mic!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:20:01 +0100

Open mic nights are like a box of chocolate - you never know what you're gonna get. This is especially true when the owner, our beloved Steve, warns me, "Y' know Scotty, if it's a bit slow like it was last week, we might be cutting out early." I shrugged, and he adds, like he usually does, "Did you bring Mr. Winston?" While that's a blog for another day - Mr. Winston was ready to go, but in the end, he wouldn't need to.

   At 6p, the crowd was thin - a few dinner eaters, and only a couple musicians - looking like it was going to be an early night. 6:30 came, a couple more players with the prospect of more to come had my hopes running on high. As host, I offerred up a greeting and began to play. Started off with some easy tunes with the acoustic - all the gear was working - which was my biggest concern. Anyway, some Dishwalla, a little Lowen and Navarro, Incubus - acoustic standards for your truly - obscure tunes, but the crowd applauded politely.

   A familiar face was sitting in the crowd - Tim - he's a regular fan and supporter of the open mics. On this night, he mustered the courage to take the Serenity Stage - what a debut. Opening with CSN's "Horse w/ No Name", followed by "Knockin' on Heavens' Door", ending with another oldie that I know was covered by Pearl Jam. His debut outpaced some vets I've seen there - great work and a gracious performer.

   My relief upon the appearance of Bobby Lyon was marked. His performances are steadily improving, and tonight was no exception. Dipping into the Dave Matthews well and a Hootie and the Blowfish tune were great song selections, and well received by the steadily growing crowd.

   Kate couldn't have been any more than 12. She signed her name on the performer board, came to the stage with sheet music in hand. This first timer had confidence to burn. Armed with an MP3 player, loaded with some 'canned music' - she went into a current hit - I didn't catch the artist name - but the tune stays with you in a good way. She followed that up with "The Climb" by Miley Cirus - outstanding - big voice - Hope to see her again. Props to her brother for helping me out with the iPod!

   The next 1st timer for SS's open mic was Zack - tall, dark and handsome (I can say that due to complete faith in my masculinity). Once his black Ovation was plugged in, he performed a nifty rendition of Extreme's "More Than Words" - it was all I could do to not jump on stage and sing the harmony vox - but that's not the role of the host - support, man, support! He followed that classic with a tune from Weezer then Nirvana - vocally and acoustically solid . Well done!

With an empty slot on the board, but a virtually full room, I took to the stage again - first w/ Bobby as he played the harmonica on my version of U2's "Streets with No Name" - not bad - I think the wine Steve gave me had me a bit jacked! Played two more tunes - breaking rule #1 of open mics - don't rehearse the song you want to play at the open mic on the way to the open mic. Oh well - the applause was warm and more people were coming in!

   The next performer hasn't been heard @ Serenity's open mic since Fall - Hillary - the red-head with a sweet voice, was joined - albiet @ a moments notice - by Brent - A SS regular - for a performance of a Jason Maraz (sp) tune - awesome. The interesting note here come in how Hillary placed her iPod on a music stand and used it as a monitor to read the lyrics.

   Serenity Station Open Mics simply aren't, without the performances of John Shuey. A steady improver, he took to the stage for a crack at "Turn the Page" by Bob Seager. Not bad at all. Joined after by Bobby Lyon - the Ganasta Hippies performed the soon to be SS standard - "gansta love' - Blues be damned!

   Serenity Station was graced by the definition of unique for the next performance. Sylvain - I spoke with him briefly prior to his performance. Very kind and gracious. He took to the stage with only his voice as an instrument, belting out first, a traditional Irish song, followed by a olde Scottish song. When he finished, the roof practically came off the room - I've not heard applause that loud in SS. That was awesome.

A taste of familiarity came from Brady and Brent - dipping into a Matchbox 20 tune "3am" - while unrehearsed, I think these two fellas have some potential. Brent took his seat in the crowd, - which by this time was at or near capacity - leaving Brady to the stage alone, traveling over some modern hits and his fav - Dave Matthews.

   Zack returned, showing some depth and variation, playing some blues. Great stuff. And just when you thought his range was over, he breaks out a Ukelele. Elvis, anyone? No, he didn't sound like Elvis, but the song he did was authentically Hawiian - Nice.

  9p - I was about to graciously thank everyone - but alas - a final performer was seated with Hillary - Mike. He certainly looked the part of a musician - just his hair alone was spot on - once again, I'm very comfy saying that ! The Oasis tune he did was a great fit for his look, tone and range - his guitar playing was clean and solid. As he unplugged, I asked - "Got another?" He paused, and said he though so. I asked the crowd, "Want another?" Oh, and they did.

Dare I say it? But the Open Mic might be growing legs - maybe it's summer, maybe the kids are home from school - but you're supposed to dance with who came with you - and if they want to come and play, so be it. 34 people came to SS between 6:30 and 9. Steve said it was the best Open Mic he's had. The 1st timers were such a welcome change - they made the night - glad I was along to for the ride.

smh

Practice Makes Perfect

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:31:32 +0100

    If ever there was a cliche based solely in truth, the title of this blog posting is quite fitting.

   But before readers assume practice, in this case, is in reference to chords, scales and fingering, think again. It's about golf, and how the game manages to elude perfection from its throngs of participants.

    Practicing golf is all I have time for now. Family, job, 3 Dollar Suit, etc. If you know the game, it can be dreadfully long. Most players suck, they all want to do what they saw on TV last weekend - even if it means lining up a four-footer for triple-bogey. It's a travesty. At what point did grown men lose all sanity and believe what they see on TV as simple or doable? Ugh. Back to my point - I practice, therefore I am.

    Having not struck a golf ball in over a year, and having a free night at my disposal, I was off to the driving range. I chose a range with grass tees - not slivers of green carpet with what resembles an oversized straw sticking out for a tee - how is that arrangement supposed to help you? This range also had to have a bunker which bordered a green, since most golfers are complete hacks (bear with me for I'll repeat that fact throughout this blog) it seems necessary that each phase of the game can be practiced if you really want to improve - because if you suck - which you most likely do - that means you'll end up in the rough, or in the bunker and what better way to learn how to get up and down from those spots! What a concept.

With two, overpriced, large buckets of 'shag balls', ($20? the pro shop has firmly grasped the concept of 'charge what the market will bear') I trudged toward the range. The sun was setting, but the air was thick and still. With wedge in hand, I took a breath, took my stance and swung. I believe the word which best described the following sound was 'crisp' - for the ball, even in all it's rock-hardness, snapped off the face with a slight draw, landing about 90-yards from where I was standing - I gazed at the ball's flight, holding my finish like David Duvall, and thought, "I can still do this."

I went through every club in the bag with equal results. Sure, I squibbed a few, but overall, the range, as well as a healthy dose of muscle memory, was being vey kind to yours truly. In the tradition of the late, great Ben Hogan - I left a handful of balls in the bucket...............

With the sun now below the mountains, I went to the bunker. Speaking of which, I've come to learn 'bunker' is the ideal term for that particular type of hazzard. It has some European history. But as with many things 'Western", many refer to them as 'sand traps'. I'll go with history - so a bunker it will be.

I skull the first shot - that ball, from my own bag, will not be found on this day. But once I got the feel of the sand (which was actually a pretty poor excuse for sand - If I didn't know better, the bunker was full of sand used to coat roads on an icy day), pellets were dropping within 10-feet of the cup. The only thing left to do before the sun set was putting - arguably the most challenging detail of the game - for where else can it take as many shots to actually bury the hole in the cup as it took you to get the ball to the green? I missed more than I made, but felt the stroke was still there. Time to wrap it up, but not before I make a stab at 5 more putts.

Standing about 18-feet away, I stare at the cup, which is uphill, breaking left to right - or so it appeared. The first was short and left. The second short and right. The third long. Now the fourth was interesting. The ball left the putter on a good line - just like I envisioned it, moving slowly left to right, but six inches from hole, and to my surprise, it breaks left before it fell in! What devious plot was this? A practice green? With real undulation? With breaks? One more ball - "Cinderella story - 18th at Augusta - an 18 footer for the win - 18 feet away from history". The putt was away, started left, turned right, and with it's final rolls, turned left again, and dropped in. How sweet was that!  Luck? I'm not a believer in luck - getting a break here and there? Well, that happens - but that dose of draino was flat out skill.

Until next year, Mr. Driving Range.........................

3 Dollar Suit plays (not runs) the Bob Potts Heritage Rail Trail Marathon

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:35:48 +0100

Performing from the patio of Serenity Station along the race course at the Bob Potts Heritage Rail Trail Marathon was an awesome experience and one that gave me a fresh outlook on my band mates and the event itself. Let's look at some of my personal revelations:

FACT: Frontman John revealed to me post gig that he'd qualified for, and completed, the Baltimore Marathon.

CONCLUSION: John is not a boastful person, so I might believe that he could hold this information in. However, the most athletic thing I've ever seen him do is move speakers (and he's a little clumsy at it, frankly). But come on, you run the big race during your lifetime and you don't even mention it to your band mates until the last minute?

I'm pretty sure John is a liar and I will not let him transport my precious gear anymore. Trust is a big thing in a little band.

FACT: Guitarist Scott couldn't play this gig with us because of some undisclosed reason.

CONCLUSION: I think Scott was disguised as the runner wearing the pink ballerina tutu, who completed the marathon and put several people (including the aforementioned John) to shame. Scott, btw, looks marvelous in pink.

FACT: The marathon is a great event that will likely have a lasting presence in the county.

CONCLUSION: The international contingent of runners loved our rail trail. I was in awe of the runners, volunteers, spectators and planners of the marathon. Kudos to you all. I only wish I could create a memorial to my loved ones as Sean Potts did for his father. And we had a blast making music while the crowd cheered on the participants.

FACT: I will begin training NOW for next year's marathon.

CONCLUSION: I'm beginning to lie like me bandies. I hate running. It makes the ice fall out of my glass. I'll stick to playing bass, watching the runners go past and pretending all that applause and encouragement is for the band. We hope to be there next year.

Check out the York Dispatch video on the race (there's even a little 3 Dollar Suit music in it)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tae2xEugQ18&feature=channel_page

The First Holler (a song in the rich tradition of the spoken word)

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:47:33 +0100

blig blog, bliggity blog.
i'm gonna blig that blog all around the bog.