In The News

January 25th,2012… 6PM

We embark on the craziest road trip since 2000 and The Millenium Mambo Tour.We’ll purposely take our butts to places colder than just a little chilly to play for folks who really need a little summertime in their lives right now.

The Nut Van is loaded to the absolute gills with every piece, part, cable, speaker, light, etc, that we may need for this 21 day galavant around possible snow-covered wonderlands, where people look forward to the cold every year and revel in the best snow angels, the best mogul run, and the fact that beer and red meat can be stored right outside on the back porch using mother nature as the only method of deep cooling.”Little known fact: Mother Nature is the World’s Largest Manfridge. no, really.”

First place of interest was Milton, FL on rt 87. It’s the county seat, it is, but L and I have yet to figure out what that means. The internet would tell us, but that would be no fun at all. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the jail is right across the little street from the bail bondsman. I think we figured out at least one way this little town makes money. On one corner, there’s a place called Bitco, but the second that most people realize the sign is there and look up, the “o” is blocked by a telephone pole. What goes through my mind is, “who in their right mind would call a place bitch, and what do they sell? It’s right down the road from Murder Creek Tattoo and the Murder Creek Bridge. Don’t blink- you’ll miss it, Thank God.

Whee weeeee we weeeeeee, Brewton, Alabama. 19 churches and only one is a chicken joint. These folks want to make sure you get where you’re going. Most of the miles through are 30mph or lower. I think they want you to experience the olfactory overload of a mill or a plant, or a refinery of a cross between chicken fat and egyptian papyrus. The smell of money to them, is the smell of speeding to me. whee weeee weeeeeeee, pure adrealine snort hehe.One last thought: Lynley sang Sir Mix a Lot songs and ZZ Top’s La Grange the whole way through, Can somebody please, for the sake of all that is holy, either tell me why or please send duct tape

Finally to rts65 and 85 North. 80 mph seems like light cycles from the movie tron. BABY , WE’RE FLYIN’!

Good Lord Willin’ and the creek don’t rise, Tomorrow we’ll make it to O’Raleigh’s Neighborhood Pub in Manassas for a little fun and frivolity before the hounds are released, and they take on the shape of Parrot Heads and they’ll drink all the booze and eat all the food in sight. BUT, They’ll Boogie all weekend long.. Should be 50′s during the days and lower 30′s at night. I sense a good time coming.

I guess, this being a road blog, I should tell you where we’re going. Tomorrow Manassas, yes, but, courtesy of Destin Parrot Heads Lee and Jean Grieve, we were hooked up at a hotel that is so comfy that this blog may become a round of angry birds.

450 miles today, more tomorrow with the same commentary.

PEACE, r

Day 2 (late night)

This morning was like waking up in a whole new world. Yesterday was flat and then darker and flatter as the miles ticked away. Today was bright, and with that slow lope of Carolina roads. The two days have been definitely different driving experiences. Very cool.

980 miles from our new home of Navarre, we’re once again back in the very familiar and comfy surroundings here at Rob and Ally Taylor’s place in Manassas. Being here is kinda like coming home. Friends who don’t get to see each other nearly enough gather in the kitchen and laugh about everything that’s laugh worthy. Paul and Kristie are here and so are both Crawdaddy and Quincy. Things just happen like a family everytime we all converge on Chez Taylor.

Two more of our favorite folks have a real, honest to shilelagh, Irish Pub in their basement and it has become a recent tradition for a few friends to pop in for one or two the Thursday of Meltdown Week. Raleigh and Amber are, once again, more like family than just friends. Memories of Meltdowns past trickle through every conversation. ”Remember when” starts more than a few sentences. Smiles dimmed a few times tonight as we remembered a lost friend. Wil Grant, a longstanding member of The Pirates of the Potomac, passed away just after last year’s Meltdown. His memory brought the smiles back immediately though. Wil always did have a way of making you smile.

On a lighter note, We realized that Waffle House and Huddle House (both which look exactly alike) bear a strong resemblence to the lesser know Mr.Waffle. And, that old people in Florida don’t signal, but old people in VA do, but then just leave it on. We just report it folks.

Tomorrow, the craziness begins. The stage gets assembled. The gear gets set up. The tables and chairs appear as if from nowhere, And The tiki bar gets built. Silent Auction stuff gets displayed, banners are hung, etc etc etc ad infiniteum. The crew really puts everything they have into making this yearly “Middle of the Winter Bash” happen, and we’re happy to back again this year. God only knows how this weekend will play out, but it’s safe to say that that even more memories will be made.

Ladies, and Gentlemen… Start your engines!!

Oh, by the way. We’ve left two pieces of gear in Florida. Two pretty crucial pieces of gear. Without them, there will be no PA system. We’re sending Ron Couch, who knows absolutely nothing about equipment, to Guitar center in the morning to pick up replacements. Man, I hope he gets the right stuff.

Day 3 late night in Manassas

Holy wow, what just happened? Midwinter day 1 is in the books and it ended just and feverishly as it started.

At noon when we showed up, the crew was already there and in pull prep swing. T-minus 4 hours and it’s already buzzing in here. Meltdown is kinda like a living, breathing thing that has to be watered and nurtured before it’ll become. It was well on it’s way when we showed up!

Key West Kate’s term, “Army Ants” came into play this morning. Folks showed up in droves to tote gear upstairs into the ballroom. All we did was shuffle gear out of the van. THEY moved it all and that meant our energy was saved for tonight’s show and not used hauling gear. How can you say thanks to people who just did a large part of what you get paid for. THANKS, YOU ROCKED IT FOR US.

4 pm is GO TIME on friday and starting things off this year was a local duo who call themselves “Without Static”. Two guys with two guitars and great harmonies. Truthfully entertainment slot #1 on day #1 is the toughest slot of all. You have people checking in, filling their ice buckets, or just getting the lay of the land, so the musicians have to work doubly hard to keep the crowd and not become musical wallpaper. Will and Chris had no problem, they had the crowd from note 1 to note don’t. Welcome to the family you guys!

Act 2? TALLDADDY! These two always bring their A game, but today they were like AAAAA Flame Maple. And, that’s just how they started. They had the crowd out of their seats and walled up to the stage like a Gaga concert. It’s great to watch these two read each other’s every move onstage like L and I do. How do we follow this?

Kristie (Paul’s “Mrs Me”) has always joined them for a song or two but as of the big show in Key West, she’s promoting her first cd and has come into her own as a musician.  It’s no big thing for people to sing along to “When Will I be Loved”, but when people know every word to ”If You Don’t Know”, that’s a pretty strong barometer that #1- people are buying her cd, #2- she’s getting airplay in the markets that these folks listen to, and #3- it rocks. I think that blew her away. Go Kristie, the world is your stage. You are easily 100% better than you think you are.

Up next and to finish out the night… us. No pressure.

Using backing tracks allows us to choreograph a light show right along beside our audio track. Lynley has worked for three weeks to get things right for this show. Red here, Blues here with lightning flashing over the chorus. She worked hard and tonight… it showed. Our stage has never looked better than tonight. Lighting was spot on and I did not touch one thing. She nailed it.

Tonight we were joined onstage by Jimbo Kiraly and Brad Brewer. Jimbo has played with us for years and is unshakeable behind his percussion stuff. He reads what’s going on and uses his ears when he plays. I’d be remiss if I also didn’t mention that he’s a dear dear friend who we miss terribly. He’s a crowd favorite who has played many of these shows with us.

Brad just flew in from Anaheim, where he was demoing gear for saxophone companies at the National musical merchandisers convention (NAMM). Brad’s our golden boy. He’s our chameleon. His ears are figuratively as big as Cleveland and he knows how to use them to work a sax part that fits the song perfectly. He’s also a dear dear friend who we miss terribly.

After 2 sets, I happened to meet Quincy in the band hospitality room. I told him that I really wanted to finish the night with Redemption Song as a kind of dedication to the memory of our friend Wil and also to his widow Carol, whose road ahead may be a bumpy one. I told him that I was afraid I might not have the voice for the long note after already pushing through the song. Quincy said,”I’ll help”.   Not only did we swap verses, Q brought his pans onstage. If you know Quincy’s playing, you know that this was bound to be a treat. His approach to pan and Lynley’s are 180 degrees out. He seems to analyze a part and she learns it note for note first. Great playing Q.

The long note was there and it led into a very cool vamp where Q and L just played. They just played from the heart over that simple but dynamic groove. Knowing that I was in the drivers seat, I found the right spot to change up the progression just enough for them to fade out and for Brad to sneak in with an extended sax ride that brought some folks to tears. The whole time, L and Q were comping chords together and just digging playing.

As a musician since forever ago, I can honestly tell you, that this is the way a good song is supposed to be presented live. With Dynamic ups and downs, sections that while the same song, are different enough to change the mood and feel of the song. This creates that old term ”tension and release”. It’s more like you’re living the song and not just “playing it”.

Tonight it was an honor to not only share the stage with musicians who ”get it”, but to play to a crowd who knows what they want to hear and will lift you up and allow you to do for them what makes you and them truly happy.

Thank you Meltdowners, it’s shows like this that make everything worthwhile and keeps us emotionally tied to our craft.

BTW: Ron Couch made it to Guitar center and came back with the right pieces of gear. He’s the reason the show went on today. Thanks Ron!

Day 4 of the So-Far-Not-So-Frozen-‘Nuts Tour: Midwinter Meltdown Saturday

(Lynley here.  It’s 11am.  You weren’t expecting Robbie, right?)

Noon:  Ted Garber, take us away!  Ted opened for the day’s music starting at Noon.  Although many were beaten up on Friday, the room filled up early and after Ted had finished his second Red Bull, it’s as if his show was musical Red Bull for the growing crowd.  Ted knows how to grab the audience and tell them, “You are not tired or hung over- – so get up here and laugh, dance and party!”  Fun, fun, fun.

After Ted, the duo of John Frinzi and John Patti (henceforth re-named Ally Taylor’s Eye Candy) took the stage.  The show was perfect.  Between Frinzi’s voice and originals, Patti’s pan playing and vocals, and both of their looks, they covered a lot of bases in the  time they had.

Next up:  Ramajay Intercoastal Duo:  Tall Paul and Quincy Yeates.  Anytime you see Tall Paul onstage, you know it’s going to be musical, and you know it’s going to be fun.  Quincy?  He’s off the charts.  This was the point in the day when the crowd started bouncing in earnest, and The Lolas made a brief appearance to shake and molt with the guys.

Day 4 Late night still in Manassas

Hi, Robbie here…I’ll pick up at “Girlz Rule” because untiil then I was in the room feelin’ puny, from being overserved by myself. We knew that today was going to be a bit of a challenge. Yesterday was easy. It was 3 or 4 inputs and acts that we’ve mixed in the past.

Today started for me with Girlz Rule. Heather Sneeringer from Tropical Soul, Kristie Bobal and Lynley are doing a 30 minute girl song act with some of the guys in instrumental supporting roles only. Girls songs, sung by girls with big, strong pipes, these 3 have won the hearts of everyone they’ve sung in front of be it Key West, or now Manassas’ Midwinter Meltdown. From “DA DA, I’ve been cheated, DA DA been mistreated”, the crowd was singing along and diggin’ the women folk.Women folk,,,,funny.

After crazy applause, Heather stayed onstage to fill her role in Tropical Soul with her partners, Dennis McCaughey and Dave Huxta. Tropical Soul is a long standing act at MWMD and today, like every other performance they just brought everything they had, laid it out, and the crowd ate every bite. Can you tell that today shaped up to be magic stuff? Crawdaddy, John Patti and The Lolas joined Tropical Soul at one time or another in another “Hey, y’all meet the family kinda time. cool, really cool.

Our biggest challenge was mixing sound for Homemade Wine. Although we’ve met the guys in the band in the past, we’ve never had a chance to really get to hang out with them and we’ve never seen them onstage. Being 6 pieces with everything lined out to the PA, L and I figured we’d have our hands full with, “I need some more this or that, or, hey turn this down here, but up here and please notch my vocal at 800hz by 3db. This was absolutely not the case. Humble and gracious, these guys said, “we’ll work with what ya got and do all we can”. Great, that helped break the ice a lot.

With strong Tennessee, country roots, Homemade Wine was a stretch for Meltdown, an event known for more tropical and acoustic stuff. Here’s where once again we we’re caught offguard. From the first downbeat, the were energy energy energy with a take no prisoners kinda attitude.

They grabbed the crowd and went full tilt until the end when the house lights came up. Meltdowners sucked the guys in like family and rolled right along with ‘em, it’s just their way. Now that I’ve seen them, I get the hype. I understand how a more country type act can work in a more tropical situation.

Brad Brewer, joined the guys onstage, and true to the nickname that I feel fits him best (The Chameleon), he nailed it. The country stuff. The old soul stuff. Hell, even the old Elvis stuff, you just can’t shake Brother B. Homemade Wine, welcome to the family.

Strong senses of family and community today at Meltdown. After all, it is, at the end of the day, an event who’s proceeds go to charity. The Silent auction wound up at night’s end, with lots of activity during the day. Wil Grant’s picture continued to get messier and messier as more folks touched it while sharing a memory or two or just stopped by to say, “Hey buddy, we know you’re here”. He’s so missed it’s crazy.

Dawn, Kate and Big Ed from Island Dreamz Radio were broadcasting live on the web again today. The software allows Ed to get some kind of clue as to where listeners are from. Today we had folks tuned in from as far away as the U.K.. Way to go you guys. You always pull it off and today’s feed was exceptionally clean and strong.

Maynard the Moose, our mascot (“Sorry folks, Park’s closed, Moose out front shoulda told ya”), retired after a series of debilitating falls, resulting in irrepairable damage to most of his hollow resin body. Maynard 2.0, his replacement, came to Meltdown this year and hung out on the foot of the stage all weekend. He has now mysteriously gone missing very much like when his predecessor dissapeared years ago. Maynard 1.0 spent time galavanting the country, taking pictures at landmarks and with hot women and was even photographed in Haiti with first responders after the tragic earthquake. We never REALLY found out who initially obsconded with our old buddy, but we have strong suspicions. We also suspect that Maynard 2.0′s captors may very well be the same surly, blackhearted, grimy dogs. Here we go again I think.

“Maynard can you hear me?”

BTW: Today, while running cables to mix the Homemade Wine show, I got a little frazzled. What goes where, and should I put this here, etc. Lynley took the cables, said, “I got this” and I walked off the stage for just 1 minute to regroup. When I walked back up, she was done. DONE. She never ceases to amaze me. Now she’s a sound engineer.

More tomorrow, but for now…ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz (for a couple hours) nite y’all.

DAY 5 AND HOLY FREEKIN’ WOW!

Call it an event. Midwinter Meltdown #10 is in the books.

Sunday, for years, has been called the Drunkwriter’s Brunch. The musicians who are still around from the weekend long event, pop in to sing a song or two on a very stripped down stage with none of the lights and glimmer. It’s a time to try something new, break out something that hasn’t been done in a long time or fullfill an obscure request that just would fit at the local restaurant gig. You really never know what you’re gonna see, but it’s gonna be a whole lot in just a few hours. Folks playing today were numerous incarnations of: John Frinzi, Mike Magnum, Crawdaddy, Tall Paul, Kristie, John Friday, Dennis McCaughey, Heather, members of Homemade Wine and us Nuts’.

Because of the sometimes avant garde stuff that happens, the drunkwriter’s brunch is never aired live or even recorded. Today, like the rest on MWMD 10, was a little bit different. Big Ed recorded, but did not air the event. This makes me very happy because we’ll be able to hear what fools we can sometimes make out of ourselves, but we won’t have to explain it after it hits the air. It’s just so we can laugh at ourselves or enjoy blissfull magic moments that might just happen.

Breakfast starts at 10 when doors open and so does the musical mayhem. Combinations of musicians you’ve never seen share a stage before, do, or don’t. Sunday just doesn’t really matter and that’s probably one of the reasons that it always works out great. In the past, folks have filtered in and out and the crowd has been unpredictable. Today it was packed from stem to stern from ten till two. Sunday Brunch, for some folks, is their favorite part of the weekend. Seeing your favorite artist in a rare setting, where anything can (and usually does) happen means they’ll be paying attention and catching a lot of tongue in cheek stuff they would normallly miss. I, Robbie Meade, do humbly admit, that I may have pushed the envelope just a tad today. Some of the musicians sang heartfelt, poignant ballads, or blues or country tunes, but I had to show up in my pajamas with a blanket around my shoulders, barefoot and ready to screw around with John Frinzi. He skipped ONE beat and that was it. He’s become used to me so I may have to up my game. We’ll see.

The clock struck 2, and down the grandfather’s clock ran a pile of folks armed with screw guns, wirecutters, handtrucks and a get it done attitude. When Meltdown is officially over, there’s no sense wasting any time getting it cleared away. Time used breaking it all down is time wasted for planning next year’s bash.

Rob and Ally Taylor announced that the Pirates were stepping down after 10 years and turning the helm over completely to their cohorts, The Parrot heads of the Old Dominion. Ten Years of go go go has to be enough for anybody. It’s time that the Pirates dig the event from the other side of things and see what a wonderful thing they’ve done for all these years.

People commented to me how it seemed that the picture of our lost buddy Wil followed you around the room. My answer was, “Yep, just like when he was still living, he’d follow you around the room”. Tall Paul reminded us that it was Wil who turned us on to Damiana liquor, which became Wil’s signature Damarita. Paul made a batch, and with one last toast to his memory and a toast to his wife’s strength and it was officially done.

Three cheers to The Parrots and the Pirates for putting on the shindig of the year!

Day 6… Manassas 2am Eastern Central mid standard daylight (just not daylight right now) savings time zone.

Today was comfort food, comfy clothes and a little down time with friends. Time flew today with stories of road trips and good times past. Tomorrow, Rob and Ally go back to work and we go back to planning the next shows. We’ll hit the road for Chalet du Herb in Virginia Beach and upset his applecart for a few days and it’ll be nice to be back in our old stomping grounds for a while. We’ll play a couple old haunts (The Blue Turtle and Busky’s) and we’ll do two shows for the PHCoT Charity Beach Ball.

I’m having a Drunken Ribeye at The Blue Turtle and a Busky Burger and some Crab Balls at Busky’s. The day I’m not food driven is the day that I actually lose this extra Fiat I’ve been carrying around for some time now. Diets and the road don’t really mix, so rather than fight it, I’m gonna bite it. The plan is still 205 before Summer Season though, so it may have to be lettuce only after this trip.

Anywho…being gypsies has been fun and there’s still many days before I see my own bed. Tim and Betsy have the cats covered, so I know they are in the best possible hands. Of course we miss them, but #1 we’re having a bunch of fun, #2 Betsy is a crazy cat whisperer lady, and #3 as long as the food bowl is full, the cats wouldn’t care if we were on the road for 4 months. Don’t get any ideas Disney.

Feb 4 2012 Beach Ball Pre-Party

Lynley here Beach Ball weekend is finally upon us! PHC of Tidewater was ready, the SE chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association was ready… the music was ready…

Friday is traditionally the Pre-Party for the Beach Ball; a time for the organizers to enjoy themselves and gear up for the big night… a chance for club members to “practice” their party and dance skills… a sort of “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines” kind of thing. And start them they did! With the assistance of Jimbo Kiraly on percussion and Brad Brewer on sax, there were conga lines, love trains, and a night full of “let the party begin”. Truly a fun night for all.

Feb 5 2012… THE Beach Ball

The Beach Ball… THE event of the year for PHCOT. Tonight the ‘Nuts played a secondary role: we are the soundtrack for the (not so) silent auction. With Robbie’s constant reminders that “there are no friends at auctions”, and to bid often and high, the room jumped for about an hour and a half. With over 150 silent auction items, there was a lot to look at. Some small items, some large, and an entire corner of the room dedicated solely to all the wine selections up for auction.

Following the close of the silent auction- – the main party in the Beach Ball began with TFC Band in the mail ballroom. THESE guys are awesome. Tidewater is lucky to have this national touring showband be our headliner for several years running. Harmonies are tight and the dance floor never goes unused while these guys are onstage.

Fast forward to the end of an incredible night of fun, silent and live auction, and PHCOT presented a check in excess of $31,000 for ONE night of fun Parrot Head style… Gino Columbara, director of the SE Alzheimer’s Association was hardly dry-eyed as he accepted that oversized check. Fantastic Job PHCOT and ALL who were involved in the happenings that made it happen. The ‘Nuts are proud to be a part of it.

Wednesday, Feb 8… Busky’s Chill & Grill
(Lynley here)
Felt like Old Home Week at last. Since we had had to cancel The Blue Turtle the previous week, we were anxious to see friends and family that had not made it to the Beach Ball weekend.  Like the Blue Turtle, Busky’s has always been that to us. It was an incredible night of hugs and fun, and thanks to Busky’s for having us back with open arms. We miss you already!

Friday, Feb 10, 2012….Up Here on the Mountain…late night

Wow, coming into Snowshoe the back way was a new experience for us.
Staunton is a good stop if you are even the least bit tired and it’s
nighttime. After you leave Staunton, it’s a series of little townships
separated by miles of twisty turny up and down road that’s all really
aimed at one place Snowshoe Mountain Resort. Light snow laying on the
roadway and flashing past your eyes obscures your vision just enough
to make you slow down a tick or two for your own safety. Our old
safety Buddy Mark Wilkins would have been proud of us.

Once again, our travels to another cool place are brought on by an
idea other than our own. Wild Bill Treadway knew that we we coming
North for MidWinter Meltdown and Tidewater’s Beach Ball. and said, “Hey guys, I’m partners in a new restaurant on Snowshoe Mountain and
I’ll bet I can swing you two in for the weekend before you go any
farther North. We’ll eat some good food and you guys can play, and oh
by the way, I have a new shack up in the hills where you can stay.”

Let’s translate that as, “Come on up and play a couple nights for a
bunch of cool people, we’ll eat some Gah Rate food, and my shack is a
2400 sq ft chalet at 3750 feet with a hot tub and a great view of the
valley”. And, oh by the way, my translation is better than his.

Snowshoe is the area’s largest money maker by far so the state does a
really nice job keeping the roads drivable even during medium
snowfall. Local and private roads are another story. After hitting the
bottom of the mountain, you’re just 1/2 mile from the entrance to
Slaty Fork Farms where Bill’s “shack” is. The windy turny up and down
from the main road to Bill’s place is about a mile and a half long and
makes some of these roads around here looks as flat as I10 west of
Tallahassee.We initially drove up this afternoon is the Big White
Whale, but after 4 inches of snow tonight we figured it best to leave
the two wheel drive junker on Snowshoe and drive down with Bill and up
up up to his place. In hindsight, we never would have made it.It’s
pretty steep and remote. Look for the video of the drive through Slaty
Fork Farms.

Tonight’s gig was nice. Late diners etc etc pushed our 9:30 start back
to 10:30, but my memory of mountain life reminded me that people WILL
COME OUT whatever time you start. And as usual, a new band on the
mountain is scoped out first night and if they’re any good the word
gets around and you’re packed on subsequent nights and visits. I hope
they thought we were good, packed tomorrow would rock!

Saturday Night late. Up here in the woods.

So,,,,,we did indeed get the forcasted 6 inches of snow…AND the hi
temp for the day was a blistering -2 degrees. That was the High! The
low with that pesky wind chill thing mixed in was,,,,,uh,,,, -27! I’ve
experienced cold. Mountain cold. This mountain cold. For a whole
winter COLD! But, it was never like this kind of cold. Leaving Bill’s
was not so bad because the truck was only 8 feet from the side door of
the house, but the top of the mountain was another whole story. There
was an urgency about the walk/jog across the parking lot to the
restaurant. Go as fast as you can without slipping and busting your
butt. Once inside, things were as cozy as a ski resort TV commercial.

With some time to spare, we had another great dinner at the bar. A
classic ribeye with a baked potato and asparagus. Rockin’! Halfway
through dinner, as I’m casually just kinda lookin through the
restaurant, Chris Werne from Virginia beach just pops around the
corner! Crazy! She had no idea we were here! She and a friend had
decided that maybe a weekend at Snowshoe might be just the getaway
from life that they needed. Now, Chris used to come up here every
other weekend and she did for years, so she knew she was going to see
faces she recognized, but I think she was as suprised to see us as we
were to see her.

Fun crowd tonight at South Mountain Grille. A busy dinner crowd meant
a late start for us again and that’s ok. If the place is packed and
people are still waiting to get in, it only makes sense not to move
tables yet. Hold off and let these people eat! 10:30 is a late start,
but people were ready. I’ve noticed that red wine is a big thing up
here and that may have been just what helped put those grins on the
faces. I was happy.

Ok, so, uh, we’re done and hard not to remember the dash inside a few
hours ago. The word from everyone who was coming in for a nightcap was
that the weather was treacherous and wicked cold. Well, I had felt the
cold earlier and I agreed. What I failed to keep in my was that it was
hours later and that’s when the temps drop. I had Rob Taylor’s coat
(thanks again for the loan), zipped up so high my head probably just
looked like a flesh colored bubble sticking out the top. I was ready!
Lynley, who grew up in Cleveland, had on her signature sweat shirt
over her gig shirt. She was ready because she grew up in Cleveland.
Now, I don’t know what that says about growing up in Cleveland, but
ok, ready is ready, right? Not!

This was where we met the hawk! THE Hawk. Mister Wind! -2 had only
dropped one degree to -3, but now the winds were howling. It really
sounded like animals howling. It was bizarre and it was the coldest
I’ve ever been. The snow that the wind was blowing, was like little
daggers and they all seemed to be aiming themselves at us! Lynley
found out exactly how unprepared she was for the 1 minute walk to the
van, and if I was as cold as I just typed, she was even colder. Bless
her little pea pickin’ heart. Bill was all calm and cool, mentioning
the wicked cold, but he didn’t turn into the Keystone Cops like the
other 4 of us.This was an “I have only one thing on my mind”
moment…GET IN THE DAMN VAN AT ALL COSTS, SCREW WOMEN AND CHILDREN
FIRST, ALL PROTOCOL IS OUT THE WINDOW, CHIVALRY HAS BEEN DEAD FOR
YEARS, EVERY MAN TO HIMSELF, DAMN THE TORPEDOS, RUN LIKE HELL IT’S
COLD OUT HERE. The scramble into the truck meant heat and a slow run
down the mountain, not stopping until the house. NOT!!! Mr. “Blue Light
Special” lit Bill up like a Christmas tree and took 15 minutes to write
him a warning for rolling through a snow covered, slick and slippery
stop sign at the end of the parking lot. This was the epitome of
“Don’t you have something better to do, like catch bad guys?”

Finally on our way and back to Bill’s Shack, Vanessa (another friend
of Bill’s) breaks out some duck liver mousse. 1 taste led to an all-out cheese tasting. 3 cheeses with three distinct flavors and
textures. I love good foods and I’ll try anything once, but neither
Lynley or I have ever had the opportunity to try cheeses with someone
who knows them inside and out. There was a quarter of a bottle of
really nice cabernet on the counter from someone earlier, so tastes of
that were passed around as well. This is Bill’s  idea of hangin’ out
around the kitchen, chit chattin’ and just talking down the day.

Now, the world sleeps in the silence of these mountains, and I will
soon too. Thanks to Bill and Liz for what has so far been an amazing stop
on the Frozen ‘Nuts Tour. I’m betting there’s more news tomorrow.

peace, r

Monday Night in Berea, Ohio… late night

Island Time Radio airs live every Monday Night from 10pm-1am at WBWC The Sting at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. Dennis King and Amo Bennett host the 3 hour show that’s also streamed live at WBWC.com, and we stop in to see what’s happening whenever we’re anywhere close by.

It’s tropical everything!  Music, giveaways, call ins from friends and fans of the show. The times are structured, but the content is really up to the guys and it’s pretty obvious that they have a blast doing it.. Transmission locally is a little limited, but tonight there were 65, 000+ internationally. That’s kinda cool. Though the listeners were made of about 50% Ohioans, we had folks tuning in from India, China, The UK and 8 folks from Navarre, Florida.

Rain Jaudon from Biloxi, Miss. is a great friend of the show and calls in from his gig at The Tropical Isle on Bourbon St. most weeks. He was off the chain tonight. I think he may have been drinking hand grenades before placing the call to the station. He said this week on Bourbon street has been great. Tons of people partying in the street like nowhere else we know. He said that you’re pretty much good to go unless you urinate in public. Ok, I can follow A rule. Island Time Radio is also hosting a cruise this year and Rhythm and Rain are scheduled as entertainment! That’s going to be a good one!

Although Bob Karwin didn’t call, he did facebook us and heckle me from across the country. Well, that’s just Karwin Karma coming back to bite me on the a$$! He said, “Robbie, be funny RIGHT NOW!” No pressure. Ok, I’ll take my lumps when I have them coming, I had nothing.

At 1am things change over to a Latin Show and we continue a tradition of stopping at The Eastland Inn for drinks and wings! With no worry about having to be radio sharp, the guys can let their hair down and have a few. Imagine an old house that’s been turned into a bar…That’s this place. The bartender makes the drinks AND the wings and he looks forward to seeing the guys every week. Sometime during the visit he’ll take a pic with Dennis’ camera that gets sent right to Rain Jaudon’s FB page. That’s tradition too. Lots of tradition up here I guess. I like it.

Entertainment at the Eastland Inn tonight was two girls and 100 beers. Drunk was not the word for these two. The lean on the table and almost tip it over but recover somehow, was displayed tonight as was the slip and catch yourself on a barstool trick. Nicely done, but these two are going to hurt in the morning.

After beer and wings and some conversation about the quote unquote State of “Trop Rock”, we shot the picture for Rain said good night and hit the road for this hotel where sleeping will commence soon.

Thanks to Amo and That Other Guy for having us on their show tonight. It really makes a difference and it’s really a fun time for us. This is the show’s 13th year and it looks like there’s no stopping them anytime soon! People love this show from the North Coast of Ohio… us included.

And a special thanks to Lynley’s sister Lea for stopping in and hanging with us at the show and at Eastland Inn. We don’t see each other often enough.

More later, but now,  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

peace, r

Thursday Night- Feb 16

Last night we played at the Craft Brew Garden in Parma! The North Coast Parrot Heads were out in force and so were Lynley’s Dad, girlfriend, and sister.   Lots of fun for us and the crowd. The idea of a little bit of snow is cool. It gives you that idea that this is really winter without having to slog your way through powdery body-engulfing drifts just to get to the van.

Steve Lawrie and a few of his friends were out last night. You may remember us mentioning Steve in prior blogs. He made our steel pans almost 5 years ago and has tuned them 3 or four times, but has never seen us play live. Last night was like a reuniting of father and long lost children. Of course we sent them with him last night to be checked over. We picked them up today at Summit Academy where Angel Lawrie (Steve’s wife and musical partner) teaches music and has a steelband called The Steel Dragons! We got to hear rehearsal and see them learning a new song from the beginning. The kids sat down on the floor for not only question and answer time , but some of them sang for us hoping to get a pointer or two. Neat, we felt like stars.

You can find all about Steve’s newest improvement on solid hoop technology at www.pantuner.com

As we speak, we’re camping out at a Best Western in Olean, NY. We’ll chill tonight before heading in to Binghamton for a show tomorrow night at The Mad Moose BBQ.

Until then, Peace, Love and Cheeseburgers, r

Friday Night back in the Catskills- Binghamton, Feb 17

Today we rolled into town right on time for our 7pm start and folks came out of nowhere like little army ants. By the time I got out of the van, Lynley had said something like, “well, it’s all gotta go in- - just grab something”. They loaded most of it out at the end of the night too.

Binghamton Parrot Heads were there and lots of regulars. The surprise was Patti McCoy from Stow, Ohio..Paul and Cherri Artrip from Virginia Beach… And our buddies from beautiful Walton, NY… Mike and Renée Ripa! Trop Rock radio station “The Shore” was with us all night workin it on the breaks for prizes. Only one person out of the fifteen who tried could hula hoop, so she ended up winning that prize. Kinda funny, Kinda scary to watch.

The Whole Moose decor and theme made us think of our long lost tag-along moose, Maynard 2.0. He’s been missing since Midwinter Meltdown and there’s been no sightings of him yet. Food tonight? Really good. Really good! Also on the menu tonight… Dani Hoy! Well, not like, ON the menu, but on the menu as in, she played a little earlier than us at the same place. It’s nice when there are more acts than just us and it happens to be someone we know.

To get from Binghamton to Walton would’ve been easy enough with the GPS, but it’s always better to follow a local. Mike Ripa is a local. He’s also loco! Up this hill, around this bend over this knoll, 10% downgrade use lower gear, under this overpass and over this underpass. All at 70 miles per hour. Lynley was holding her hands up in the air like was on a roller coaster. weeeeeeeee, pure….adrenaline!

We’re always just a little bit nervous when we play for new folks in a new setting, but tonight people pulled us in just like family and that made it a whole lot easier to get into the groove of the night.

A huge ‘Nuts thank you to all who came out tonight to help support The Magic Paintbrush Project, which helps mentally challenged individuals through art. Some of the prizes tonight we artwork from people at The Project. Very cool stuff that makes ya all happy inside.

Now, at about 3am, we’re settled in at Mike and Renée’s place watching a movie from their Murphy bed and getting random kitty visits from Norman. Norman is their ding dong cat. He’s another rescue! Yay for rescued pets! He too, seems to know that he’s hit the kitty lottery. But…he’s still a ding dong.

More later from somewhere in these awesome mountains.

peace, r

Saturday Night in the Catskills….late night  Feb 18

Tonight was a nice house concert setting. Unlike some, where chairs are arranged in theater seating, this was a “slam the couch against the wall, put the band on that wall and the food and booze in the kitchen” kinda setting. 20 or so people had a great time tonight thanks to Mike and Renée Ripa. They opened their home and a party just sort of happened. There were songs and road stories, rum and pasta, cheesecake and more.

Mike also has a Steve Lawrie built solid hoop lead pan which I grabbed for a song or two. Although they’re virtually the same, they each have their own voice.His is a sweet airy sounding pan where ours is tuned a bit tighter so it’ll take the everyday abuse we put it through. Ours is just as sweet but it opens up with harder sticking as opposed to the light touch of Mike’s playing…  Steve built these pans back when he was with Panyard, so they’re like litter mates. They’re pans that nobody ever gets rid of. They really are something special and a pleasure to play.

Thanks to all the men who got up with very little prodding to do the Mailman Song. You were a hoot.

Tonight is the kind of night we wish they could all be like. Thanks a ton to Mike and Renée once again for such a great time.

—————————————————————————-

EARLIER NEWS

October 10, 2011

Beachfront Radio holds a Shoe-A-Thon!

That’s right…  Lola needs new shoes for MoTM.  Beachfront Radio has graciously offered to do our bundled album sale for one week to help the cause.  Help a girl out!!

September 9, 2011

What are they up to now?

Not another road blog?!!  Here we go again!!!

Note: latest entries are at the top. Scroll down to read from the beginning.

By the way, if you haven’t figured it out by today, it’s Lynley at the helm of the blogging for this one.

May 20, 2011

Robbie and I do have a final wrap-up for this fabulous trip, but we are holding back to see if the end of the world comes.

Thursday, May 19;  12:30am

Home!

Are we there yet?!  Almost… 12 Stop and Home…  3:31am May 18 (remember, I haven’t been to bed yet so it’s still the 18th)

This looks familiar… why, it’s the same Candlewood Suites we stayed at on the way out to PTTW!  We left Gallup, NM with a shiny, new repaired van around 12:30pm, and made it here to Dallas by 2:20am.   I drove the first 8 hours “like a Banshee”, and Robbie finished up the drive in similar form.  For the most part, see part 1 of our blog:  trees, grass, cows, dirt, fuel stop, lather, rinse, repeat.  I DO know we only stopped twice in 14 hours worth of driving.  We wanna be home!

The only picture I took today?  At a rest stop.  In Texas.  It’s a great picture, taken from a close angle and carefully aimed.  The problem?  The sign was SO unique that I took great care to RUN up to the sign so I could get the Ansel Adams shot for all to see.  Took the shot, and immediately realized the irony of not paying attention to WHAT the sign actually said.  No, I didn’t fall victim to snakebite, but that would have been funny. Someday, I’m sure.  Today probably wouldn’t have been that day.

Wednesday the 18th:  We’re drivin’ today, dammit!!!

We’re due to pick up El Whito Whale-o in about 30 minutes.  We are only stopping for gas.  No food, no pit stops, nothing.  We are GETTING HOME, and that’s all there is to it.  The ‘Nuts are on a mission, and Ohana and furry family are on the other end.  Out of the way… Robbie’s behind the wheel and that huge white thing can be quite menacing at 80 mph.

- – And DJ Jeff?  It’s never a bad time to mention we still have your XLR, but it IS probably a bad time to expect it to show up quickly in the mail.  :D

Tuesday, May 17: The blog ain’t over ’till the van says it is…

Whoops.  And Oh, *%*&$.  Vans are not supposed to make funny whistling sounds (which at the time are not funny at all), followed by a “flappity, flappity, flappity” sound.  Ouch.  Now, remember, this is Lynley blogging here…  my best contribution to yesterday was that I was indeed the one who heard the “flappity” sound, and alerted Robbie.  From there, there were extreme towing vehicles, a lovely stint at Pep Boys (who are indeed peppy, some even cute), and then a nice, looooong relaxing stay at the Ramada Limited .03 miles away.  I can’t remember the time we actually checked into a hotel room with more than 10 hours to use it, including extending checkout.  Anyway, the GPS told us we were physically 64 feet from a Cracker Barrel, so all in all, it wasn’t a bad night.  Rather be home with the kitties, but believe me- – we are grateful this happened here- – between two exits 4 miles apart- one with a Pep Boys, Ramada Limited, and a Cracker Barrel.  This could have happened at Christmas Tree Pass…  and we’d be missing a whole bunch of gigs with no sign of us from anywhere.

Well, I was standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona… such a fine sight to see… Monday, May 16

Sights to see, yes!!!  Out of Laughlin, we headed North much later than we had planned;  we did get the whirlwind look at the Hoover Dam, and then that great big hole in the ground, the Grand Canyon.  Neither Robbie nor I had been there before, so I did insist on the extra half-day to get there and take a look.  Wow.  Oh, wow.  I mean, really, wow.  We’ve all seen pictures, but they pretty much pale in comparison to an actual visit.  If you have lost your sense of perspective or proportion, I suggest you go there.  We drove a bit more, but called it an early night in Winslow, AZ.  They don’t have that particular corner marked or anything… not that I saw.

Sunday, May 15:  Whoa, where did the time go?

Laid-back was the word for today.  Matt Wahl ran an open stage featuring anyone who would like to play;  I was actually there by NOON, and I have witnesses!  We sat in on a couple tunes on pan, and our turn featured a brand new song (like the other 9,999) by Robbie called Matt Wahl’s Cookies.  By now, Naptime was calling me LOUDLY, and once again I was out like the proverbial light.  We’re both exhausted, which is how a good weekend’s supposed to end… it means we gave it our all and had a blast at the same time.  I love my job.

Saturday:  Fun, fun, fun!

The ‘Nuts were not on the schedule today, so sadly, all there was to do was take in the music, the pool, the buffet, the palm trees… After, of course, our 1pm wake-up time.  Got to see Bob Karwin tear the crowd up… he’s amazing (he’s BOB KARWIN!!!).  Hope our paths cross more often with this crazy man.

The Saturday night band was Stars on the Water, and they rocked the house!   I’ve always loved their harmonies, and they kept the crowd dancing and singing along…  somehow even causing formerly sane people to stand on Tiki Tom’s back and pretend they were surfing, to varying degrees of success.  Crawdaddy filled out the sound for a good part of the night, and people danced until they were danced out.  Verdict?  Success!

Friday the 13th:  tales of a bounced out band

Friday really felt like Saturday to us (warning:  never a good sign!), and I was up and at the pool early (OK, look, 1pm IS early to us).  Caught a bit of Jim Hoehn, Matt Wahl, all while avoiding the sun like a vampire.  The day was HOT for sure, but the music was great and the poolside setting made for a perfect afternoon.  It’s always awesome to see friends that we don’t get to visit with but once or twice a year, but we pick up right where we left off and party together as if we lived next door.  LOVE that.

Soon enough it was time to set up;  we had the 7-9 slot, with Jimmy and the Parrots directly after.  The theme for the night was pirate, which of course is PERFECT in our books!  More fun, dancing, conga lines, skis, jello shooters… and this was all still while we were playing!

We left our gear onstage “just in case” Jimmy had us sit in for “a song or two”.  Anyone who’s ever seen him knows why those two phrases are in quotes.  Together with Crawdaddy, the CalypsoNuts were bouncin’ around with the rest of the gang like their knees didn’t care, pumping out energy, sound, and more energy than anybody thought they had.  By the end of the evening, the stage was a cast of thousands, including Bob Karwin, Jim Hoehn, Jerry Gontag, and more.  As usual, Jimmy played until the Avi threatened to call the authorities, and even after he was unplugged, took it out into the hallway for a few more songs.  I love that guy.

After packing up, and again visiting the Feather as our only food stop that day, Robbie and I shuffled back to our room at a snail’s pace;  everything ached, everything hurt, and everything was exhausted.  There’s a tiredness that can’t really be explained that comes along with giving it all hard AND fast for your own gig, then an aerobics session immediately following that.  The crowd feeds that energy back to us and there’s nothing to do but return it by double and then some.  It never hits us until we finish the night, and then we can’t walk.   I got to the bed somehow but don’t really remember how.

Thursday, really, really late;  Poolside

Well, folks, this should have been our warning…  but THESE people were here to PAR-TAY.  We pulled in around 3 this afternoon, giving us time to settle in to the room at the Avi before logistics and equipment stuff.  I don’t know who the PTTW board knows, but someone assured us some absolutely perfect weather all weekend long, starting with our Thursday 8pm gig at the pool stage.  ”Somebody grab somebody’s butt!!”… and conga lines sprouted and twisted their way in front of the stage.   DJ Jeff from Beachfront Radio not only sat in on Cowbell but made his stage debut playing steelpan.  Look for him on our next CD!

Robbie and I have a long history with playing NEAR pools, but this year we behaved ourselves.  The wireless gear was too touchy to risk it this time but I can’t vouch for the next one.  When we were finished playing, we were UTTERLY exhausted;  A quick trip to the Avi’s 24 hour eatery, the Feather, at least got some calories in us and we collapsed in bed around 2:30am.

Thursday, around 3pm

We made it!!!  Wooo hooo!  I’ve already had the chance to flirt Outrrrrrageously with DJ Jeff of Beachfront Radio, found the pool, didn’t get thrown in the pool, did get lost in the casino, got checked in, and am basking in the air conditioning until we go to set up.  The Avi Resort is beautiful, and I’m not sure we’re coming home.  I’ll get back to you on that one.  More later…

Wednesday late again… Flagstaff, AZ

Well, today we were supposed to make it all the way to Laughlin, but a section of I-40 headed west had differing ideas about that. Something about a “controlled burn” along the highway brought traffic to a standstill. I’m going to guess that they tend to HOPE it’s a controlled burn, but just in case it goes by its other name of “wildfire”, they can’t allow traffic to pass while this is going on.

Other than that? Beautiful country today. Cows, trees, mesas, mini-canyons, donkeys, goats, longhorn steer, mountains, fuel stop, lather, rinse, repeat. I can see why people would choose this part of the country… New Mexico’s another state I get to cross off my “I’ve traveled to” list.

Tomorrow the party will be in full swing… there are already posts on FB about how some are ONE wake-up away from Phins to the West… as are we… and we can’t wait.

Here’s the best picture I caught today whilst cruising I-40 at near 80 mph(Go, Robbie!!!):

Tuesday, late night- Oklahoma City

WOW, COPA knows how to throw a good party! Dana and the crew really threw out the welcome mat at the Red Rock Grill… We had a total blast.. as did that guy who has been alive 18,455 days as of today. Something tells me that he may have too much time on his hands. Anyway, the night was perfect; after a few sprinkles, the weather cooperated nicely and all was fantastic.

UNTIL.

Bugs. Little ones, big huge get caught in your teeth ones, no-see-ums… you name it. Where are they aiming? Well, to those two buggy buffets sitting like ducks under the LIGHTS. I felt like just offering myself up to the legions of flying things that seem to know exactly when you might take a breath to sing. I think Robbie is still scarred from the experience, but as usual, several songs came of it.

We can’t thank COPA enough… we had a great time with some fabulous pholks, and we’ll see most everybody down the road. SOME people we’ll see directlly at PHINS TO THE WEST… Laughlin, Nevada- – our next stop. Wish us happy driving and seeya at the Avi Casino & Resort!

Tuesday, May 10, 2:49pm somewhere in TX

Have I mentioned that Texas is really big? Nice fields and cows though.

Monday May 9 (I haven’t gone to bed yet) 2:45am

Looks like the ‘Nuts are off on another road trip, and that always means one thing: blogging. Today? driving, and lots of it. And then more driving after that… and then more… you get the picture. Quick stop at Cracker Barrel, and we’ve landed safely on the northeast side of Dallas. A quick 3 hours tomorrow will bring us to the Oklahoma PHC and a big fun time there… we can hardly wait! Gigging instead of driving will do our flat butts some good.

We passed through Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and a tiny corner of Arkansas before settling for the night. Only picture? Rest stop just inside Texas. It’s true everything’s bigger here.

More tomorrow with fun at the Red Rock Grill in Lake Hefner, OK!!!

^^^PHINS TO THE WEST ROAD BLOG STARTS HERE!! ^^^
- – - – - – - – - – - – — – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – — – - – - – - – — — -

Hey Everyone,

It’s the first news update on our new site…  Lemme tell ya, “the times, they are a’changin’” ain’t got nothing on us.

As I type this, we are unpacking box after box after box from our old base of operations in Norfolk/VA Beach, VA to our new one in Navarre, FL.

One thing that will never change- The CalypsoNuts hold the Tidewater area near and dear to our hearts; you’re not getting rid of us that easily! Look for frequent laps through the Eastern Seaboard to touch base with you as often as we can.

Locally?  Things are heating up (figuratively- and finally literally!) around here;  Fudpucker’s in Destin is hosting us two days a week Spring Break through the end of season, and looks like Juana’s will be our Sunday late afternoon/evening haunt.  Check the calendar for specifics and updates …

Much more still in the works as well, so stay tuned!

As always, we can be found at calypsonuts.com, facebook, twitter, reverbnation… you name it!  If you really can’t get to us- use the phone number below and we’ll get you there.

More to come…  we love you all.
Lynley & Robbie
757-583-7646