Short Detour

Just got done playing at George's Tavern, and boy are my arms tired.  Our "special guest" for the gig was none other than Danno on vocals and me on drums teaming-up with Mark Kangas on bass and John Pabst on guitar to play an eight-song set of classic rock covers by The Who.  Covering a set of Who hits in the same vein as their 3-piece power trio sound on Live at Leeds has been on my bucket list for a long time and these guys had the punch to go with the talent it takes to drive that sound home.  Based on the audience response (and beer sales), we'll probably make a repeat appearance down the road with a full set, hopefully, with a band other than HWY 13 opening so our throats and arms aren't half-trashed before we start.

As always thanks to Gary, Mike, the cook and bartenders at George's for their hospitality and service.  Also, a big THANK YOU to Fred Jacobsen for dialing in the sound so well and great job by Krispy Brothers, once again, of getting the house rocking out onto the dance floor until close.  We owe you the opening set next time guys!  

The abbreviated HWY 13 set gave Dino a little extra downtime for a change.  We were worried he'd dive into the free pizza and spoil our new years resolution to keep him from becoming obese, but even a short set of HWY 13 probably burned enough calories to keep him lean.  There's more alcohol servings left on our 8 billion limit than we can possibly drink by the end of December, Scarlett Johansson is a distant memory, and if Dino sticks to salads and white meat we should bat a thousand this year!

Next up is Friday night February 10 at another of our favorite venues, McAuliffe's Pub.  We're on the late shift this time with Lyden Moon and Diamond opening.  This is another great lineup of originals and RAAWWK! covers that will blow your mind, hopefully into a better state.

Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog, have a great holiday season and keep rockin!     

Home Stretch

Now that we're in the final lap of 2016, you're probably asking yourself...I wonder how HWY 13 is doing on their New Years' resolutions?  Well........ 

• Down to 6.2 billion servings of alcohol left on the 8 billion limit.  We still have to save some for the holidays, but the lousy Packer season suppressed consumption temporarily.
• Haven't heard from Scarlett Johansson all year.  We think she finally got the hint.
• Dino still isn't obese, but he had a close call.  At last practice we thought his guitar was sticking out a little farther than usual, but he was just happy to be gigging again!

Successfully jump-started our act after a long summer off with an awesome gig opening for Carbellion at McAuliffe's Pub a few weeks ago.  Carbellion sets a very high bar for local live rock and no better place to get your band firing on all cylinders than the friendly confines of McAuliffe's.  We definitely hope to continue our associations with both of them in 2017.

Next up is this Saturday 9 pm at George's Tavern for a tried & true combo of original and classic RAAWWK! with HWY 13 and our longtime brothers-in-arms, Krispy Brothers.  Gigging together at George's in early December is getting to be a tradition for us and the only "battle of the bands" we have is which band gets to dig the other band's set last with a packed house of our mutual friends and fans.

Krispy Brothers lost the coin toss this time and will close, but we lined-up a Special Guest band for a short set in the middle so we can both score a couple extra beers' worth of downtime.  What qualifies this mystery band as a "Special Guest"?  Two reasons.......1)  They're just getting started, and 2)  They probably won't get paid........so be sure to feed the tip bucket if you go!

Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog, hope to see you at George's tomorrow night and keep rockin'! 

Back in the Saddle

(Photo by Paul Tabili)

Took summer 2016 off for the various work/family/vacation events most middle-aged parents get to enjoy...or not.  First, we'd like to give an update on our New Year's Resolutions now that the 3rd quarter is coming to a close:

• Down to our last 7.2 billion alcohol servings on our 8 billion limit.  Sounds like a lot, but it's Packer season and the holidays are just around the corner.
• No proof any of us are returning Scarlett Johansonn's calls.  We check each others' call logs, but I think Danno may be using a pay phone.
• Dino is still not obese.

Second, this is my 61st post since launching this blog back in March 2012.  It's a fun job and I'm happy to continue with the updates.  That said, after nearly 12,000 page views of 60 posts, the 3rd most popular is "New Post" from last April which was only a picture of a new wooden fence post in the back parking lot of Joey's on Lathrop. The other 59 posts had at least some creative effort in them, but it's clear I need to put a lot less thought into this if we want to grow our audience.

On the business side of things, we're excited to start gigging again, starting Saturday, November 5 opening for Carbellion at McAuliffe's.  Next is Saturday, December 3 at George's Tavern with close friends and classic rockers, Krispy Brothers, plus a special guest to be named later.  All three events feature great combos of original and cover music, with great venues, beverages & service to boot!   

Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog and, rest assured, I'll be scanning the countryside for mundane objects for pictures that'll make great posts without any verbiage.  Keep rockin!  

             

New Post

Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog and keep rockin!

 

So Far, So Good

(Photo by Paul Tabili)

With January behind us, you're probably wondering how we're doing on our New Year's resolutions.  Well...

• We have well over 7.9 billion alcohol servings left on our group limit.
• Scarlett Johansonn has not been called by any of us yet.
• We did, however, have to take Dino to the doctor.  After putting him on the treadmill, running a battery of tests, X-rays, CT scans, MRI's, analyzing his fluids and consulting with a team of physicians & specialists for second, third and fourth opinions, the consensus was..........Dino is still not obese!

With resolutions intact, we scheduled a number of upcoming gigs including:

• 2/20 Mama Tried Bike Show After-Party at The Shed in Milwaukee
• 2/27 at The Port in Kenosha with The Yates Kids
• 3/5  Thoughts for Food at George's in Racine with Lonesome Woody and Ash Can School/Fowlmouth.
• 3/26 at McAuliffe's Pub in Georgetown with Diamond and Rat Fink

More details to come, but we can report that we added a couple new Motorhead covers to our set list in memory of the immortal Lemmy Kilmister.  So we have THAT going for us......which is nice!

Hope to see you at one of these upcoming gigs and, in the meantime, help us keep an eye on Dino's intake of carbs, bad cholesterol, etc.  Thanks again for tuning-in to the blog and keep rockin'!

We Resolve......

(photo by Paul Tabili)

Another lap around the sun brings us to 2016 and a great way to start the new year is to make some good New Years resolutions such as:

• reducing stress
• increasing human interaction
• supporting local small businesses
• appreciating performing arts

A great way to keep those resolutions well into the second week of January, which is about double the time New Years resolutions typically last, would be to catch this Saturday night's gig at George's with our brothers and fellow rockers Krispy Brothers. Details are in the "Next Gigs" section at the upper-left.  

Krispy Brothers & HWY 13 are a great combo for fans of both classic and original rock. This is our first gig at George's since rocking their house (and draining their coolers) last August.  George's is one our favorite venues, the management is dedicated to live music and they've notified their liquor distributors to stay close to the phone that night.

You're probably asking yourself, "So what are HWY 13's New Years resolutions for 2016?".  Normally we set unrealistic goals that only get broken within the first month. This year, we decided to set some noble, but more-realistic goals that we're pretty sure we can keep all the way through to the end of December, as follows:

• Keep group alcohol servings under 8 billion
• Stop returning Scarlett Johansonn's calls
• Prevent Dino from becoming obese

Good luck in 2016, hope to see you at George's Saturday night, thanks for tuning in to the blog and keep rockin'!