Thursday, August 25, 2005

Greetings Poetry Lovers!


As I sighted a moose on my recent trip to the Great White North, I was reminded of one of the greatest American poets, a resident of Frosbite Falls, Minnesota: Bullwinkle J. Moose. He inspired me to experiment with the Japanese art of Haiku. Below are some reflections on The BackUp Band in the form of Haiku:

can’t hear
voice in monitor
explodes my eardrums

feedback
from audience none
in P.A plenty

one sax
two guitars thrashing
keyboards played in vain

drummer
banging sticks on heads
put bullet thru mine

neon
lights in the window
spastic on stage floor

larry
mustang sally sang
one too many times

redneck
song is offensive
someone call the cops

backup
band only has one

gig a month too much

I know; that was pretty lame, but that's what came to me. Check us out at the Greenville Inn in Chagrin Falls Friday August 26, 2005.

Later!

Keith
Lowly Keyboardist and Assistant to the Assistant Marketing Director
And Poet Laureate
The BackUp Band of Cleveland, Ohio L.L.C. (c) 2005

Sunday, August 21, 2005

You Pissed Me Off, You F*ckin' Jerk

I was wrong in my last posting; Craig's last gig was last night at the party in Solon. As such, we had him pick the last song of the night. Craig chose "Let It Roll" by Little Feat. Great choice, but we barely got past the intro when one of Solon's finest exercised the Patriot Act to put us out of business.
It was going great until the Solon SWAT Team took us out. At least it seemed that way. I can understand the cops wanting us to shut it down at midnight, but rather than ask the hosts to have us quit, a gung ho patrolman aimed his xeon flashlight at our faces from across the pool and said, in one of the sternist voices I ever heard, "The band 's done! Right NOW!" It was like "put the guitar down real slow, right there where I can see it; and put both hands over your head, NOW! On the ground, motha f*cker!" Not quite that bad, but he did have an attitude. I think he watched one too many episodes of "COPS".
Actually, I don't know what took them so long. I would've thought they would have showed up five minutes after Larry sang "The Rodeo Song". (click on the title for the lyrics)
Don't forget: This Friday, August 26th at The Greenville.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

BREAKING NEWS



I have some unfortunate news to deliver to BackUp Band fans: Long time bassist, Craig Clasen, (photo - far right) has announced his upcoming departure from the band. Craig is a great guy and a talented bass player. We will miss him and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Craig has always been more of a straight ahead bluesman and recently has been playing side gigs with Wallace Coleman. Perhaps we played Mustang Sally one too many times. Its one of the downsides of the business. I love Wilson Picket, but you get sick of people screaming for that song night after night; sometimes having to play it two or three times in one night.

Maybe its my goatee. Could my new look have scared him away? Craig has had to get used to having to setup his rig next to a radical beatnik (as one business associate has become fond of referring to me). Maybe its my deodorant. I don't know. I feel like I should have done more; that maybe there might have been some way I could've reached out to him. Then again, maybe it was just Mustang Sally. (I would've been happy to drop the tune from the list, but The Reverend (photo - bottom row; leather; sunglasses) is persistent.

While virtually every musician on the planet is easily replaceable with the use of drum machines, samplers and digital sequencing, there is still something to be said for Craig's wild stage antics, dancing and wild acrobatic displays. I'll truly miss that.
In all seriousness, I have thoroughly enjoyed playing in a band with Craig. He is a great musician and a great guy. Keep in touch, dude!

I've not talked to everyone else, but I believe that the intention is for the band to continue on. If I hear otherwise, you will be the first to know, courtesy of tbublog (It would figure that I finally start a blog; then the band breaks up).

Anyway, please join us at 9:30 PM on Friday August 26, 2005 at
The Greenville Inn in Chagrin Falls, Ohio to give Craig a wild send off. Craig's buying*. I guess he'll have to play Mustang Sally at least one more time.

Later!

Keith
Lowly Keyboardist and Assistant to the Assistant Marketing Director
(c) 2005 BackUp band of Cleveland, OH, LLC.
*Craig's not really buying. Bring some cash if you want to drink.

P.S. Know a good bass player? Email contact information to
thebackupband@aol.com.