Testing. Testing. Is This Thing On?

I just finished changing the keyboard on my Dell Inspiron laptop. This is the second time I have done so on the nearly-four-years I have had it.

No, it's not Dell's fault. The first time I spilled iced tea on it (Duh) and my friend Alfred, who is a computer tech for NASA, changed the keyboard while he was here visiting. This time, it was due to the fact that I left the laptop open on the kitchen table and one of the cats thought the keyboard looked like a scratching pad.

This isn't the first time they've done this. I have been without a couple of keys for probably over a year, but they were keys I didn't use anyway. The last time they did it, I was able to get the necessary keys back in place, even if the A required a little extra shove for a while. This time, the A was a problem again, and the S kept popping back off. So I went to eBay and got a new keyboard. Pop a cover, remove two screws, disconnect the connector, pull the keyboard, and then do that in reverse with the new keyboard and all is well. Very simple and inexpensive.

And it apparently works, or else this space would be blank.

This morning, Juke House played at the annual Hounds on the Sound fundraiser for Save-A-Pet. The weather was perfect for playing outdoors.

Joe made me a bit nauseous by showing up just before show time. If anyone is MIA with a half-hour or less to go, I get freaky. I like to be prepared, and there are usually a few things to talk over before playing.

But we went on in time and played well. I felt great and had a blast, even if Diane says I looked annoyed the whole time -- It must be that stoicism.

I used the Carvin LB20 and she felt like butter today. It's funny how different instruments feel right on different days. I played through a Behringer head and Hartke 4x10 cabinet that one of the sounds guys had brought along. I didn't touch the tone or volume knobs and felt like I had great tone. I was enjoying the sound. I could have gone on playing for hours.

Scott said he was having trouble hearing the rest of the band, even with a monitor back by him. That's a rough thing to deal with, but he handled it well. I thought we were pretty tight.

Last year, there was a doggie fashion show onstage between the previous band and us, which was pretty weird to experience as we set up. This year, they paused us after the opening song (Linus & Lucy -- the theme from Charlie Brown) so they could do the blessing of the animals. The pastor did his blessing from my side of the stage and then, as he left the stage, turned and gave me a thumbs-up. Maybe he reads my blogs on religion. Diane got some photos of the pastor with me behind him. One of them is funny -- check my Music photo album on MySpace.

We played Voodoo Woman today, which I dedicated to the memory of Koko Taylor. It is one of my favorite Koko Taylor songs (Susan Tedeschi's version is blasphemy).

Just as we were done playing, some guy yelled "Bass solo!" I talked to him after I broke my equipment down. He was, as you might expect, a bass player. We talked equipment, and I let him check out my Carvin. He may buy my Carvin five-string, which I have been not using. I enjoy talking to my bassist brothers. In a world filled with guitarists, we need to stick together.

It was a fun day. This the thrid year in a row that Karl "Big Daddy" Reamer has asked me to play at this event, and I am very grateful. I have a long history of working with animals and enjoy spending time among my four-legged friends (especially the beagles).

Speaking of playing for charity, I never did a blog on the All Peace All Night event from a couple of weeks ago. We raised over $1000 for Suffolk County United Veterans, and they were quite appreciative.

I spent that entire day, from about 2PM to 2AM, at Bartini. Juke House, as one of about 20 bands performing, played about 6 songs or so that night. I used my Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass, with the pickguard with military stickers on it, through the house amp. It wasn't loud enough, though, and the recordings have me way down in the mix. I debuted a new necklace with a peace sign on it, which I have been wearing since (right after that, my Kwan Yin pendant was showing such signs of years of abuse that I replaced it with one of a Buddha on a bodhi leaf). Big thanks go to Dave Drew for arranging that whole event.

So it was good to play two gigs for charity in two weeks. Joe, Scott, Mike and I enjoy doing that. It helps those in need, and it allows us a fair amount of freedom in our set lists, since we're not concerned with the commercial aspect of music. We have agreed that whatever money we may get from playing will go back into the band or to charity.

Also, I must thank Gail for attending both performances. Today, she brought her son, Daniel, who is a cool kid. All Peace All Night was the first time she had seen us and she said, afterward, "You guys are really good!" I asked her not to sound so surprised. :-)

I'm going to look at the day's photos and post some on MySpace, and later on the Juke House web site: www.JukeHouseBlues.com . More soon...