Bluewine

I think there's a huge difference over here between open mics and jams. Jams are usually invitation only and very cliquey. Open mics, anyone that's on the sign in sheet gets called up to play. Usually all acoustic and solo. Daryl

Hi Dave, Our dep drummer made a few mistakes At the end of the day, he's been thrown into the deep end of the pool. It took me along time to get all the songs. It's his attitude and availability that make him the right choice. Daryl

That's a good approach. Daryl

It seems like I might have a busy summer. Bookings are still coming in. Mostly fairs & festivals, Winery's and Brewerys. Here's a story about a gig we just canceled. County Fair. We were supposed to play outside of the grandstand after the Bret Michael's. ( Poison ),9-11. When we were confirming the gig we found out they were not providing sound & lights and we had to turn it down. It would have been too expensive to bring our own. Oh well. Daryl

What does your summer booking schedule look like? Is your summer schedule full, any new exciting and interesting gigs coming up? Share info on anything that's coming up. Daryl

" some of the performers aren't so good" I've noticed that at a lot of the open mics in my neck of the woods . Daryl

Looks like a very " posh" event 71 here. I hope I'm still gigging at 79. That would be awesome. Daryl

We never call each other out on mistakes. I think it's one of the reasons we've stayed together since 2007. Plus, with the amount of mistakes we make we'd end up spending more time calling each other out than actual playing. Lol Daryl

" The crowd was older." Does older mean younger than me and a few others here? Lol Daryl

Acoustic gig this Friday at Edison Hall in Port Washington. 6-9. Daryl

Cool. I love The Meters,Slave, Mother's Finest and of course S&TFS. Daryl

First set had my head spinning and thinking "why didn't they hire a DJ". Second set after the booze kicked in for the guests everyone was on the dance floor. Very long day. I was picked up in the van at 4:00. We arrived at 5:00, started the first set at 8:00. We didn't leave until midnight. That's an 8 hour day. The 3rd and last set was more of an encore, only 15 minutes. I was a bit wiped out by then and played from a sitting position. I hate when I have to do that. Daryl

Holy Smokes! That's " Big Time " I'm so jealous. Daryl

Setting up for tonight's corporate acoustic gig in Milwaukee. 8-10. Nice room. Daryl

Nice cymbals. I use to be very particular about backlined bass amps. At this stage of the game for me, anything that makes it easier to get in and out of a gig, I'll take it. Daryl

Nice gig Dave. I need one of those. Do you have to lace up those boots. Daryl

Nice event, however not a great gig for me. It was very loud and I couldn't hear our guitarists. I'd been practicing all week and I had a bad night. Hopefully I'll be better next weekend. I've attached a few pics. Daryl

Looks like a cool gig. Any future gigs coming up for Richard Davies & The Dissidents ? Daryl

I hope you guys pack the place. Daryl

Nice, I know a few local bands struggling to get any kind of gig. Daryl

Maple Road will be performing (not competing) at The Paramont Blues Challange this Saturday . Were one of six bands performing. I'm not sure how many bands are competing. It should be interesting because we're not a blues band, we just happen to play a few bluesy songs. If your a blues historian Google Paramount Records Grafton WI. Daryl

I love hearing about these gigs. What's coming up on the horizon for you? Daryl

Maple Road hasn't rehearsed in years. However the band leader called rehearsals on Tuesday night for the last two weeks. The purpose was to help one of our dep drummers get up to speed. It was just me the band leader and the dep drummer. The rehearsals were effective and worth the time. Daryl

In my area you can get someone to host an acoustic open mic for as little as $75.00. I've been to a few and I can't see how this brings in any business. Unfortunately in my area these open mics for the .most part bring out a lot of marginal local talent. Daryl

I thought one of my good buddies had a chance to dep drum for us. Very good drummer great chops and he's very technical. Turns out that while he's an above average drummer he wasn't a fit. First of all we don't need a technical drummer, second he made it clear he plays for himself not the band. " I have to change things to make it interesting ". We'll we don't want you to make it interesting. We want you to keep it simple and stay in the pocket. Very set in his ways and I doubt he gets called to dep. Daryl