bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update

I have a speech degree and nearly 40 years of radio experience in getting the message across using the spoken word. I'm a real novice at getting the message across with the written word. MANY people replied to the last note with concern/empathy/suggestions, some of which I'll share later. Three people replied with "unsubscribe"! Please know that life is very good for me. It's been good for a long time. It makes it difficult to sing the blues. My wife says I lead "a charmed life". It's hard to argue with her... Altho' The Blue Band does not have a gig this week, there's some news on a lot of things. First, remember, it's a week from tonight (Fri. Mar. 25) that we play in the Show Lounge at The Riverside Casino (south of Iowa City) right after the Robert Cray show in the Concert Hall (we should start around 9:30p) Our show is free and open to the public. That's the first night of the 3-Day Blues Weekend at Riverside, with Jonny Lang on Sat. and John Mayall & Shemekia Copeland on Sunday. Take all those Black Jack winnings and get a room at the hotel, we can have a party at your place! Bookings continue to come in for the 30th Anniversary Tour. I'm REALLY tickled to be invited back for the 3rd year in a row to Celebrate Washington Days, in the town of Washington, the first Saturday of August. This means three years in a row I'll be upstaged by pre-teenage guitar player Adam Todd, who gets all the chicks when he wails with The Blue Band on I Dig Your Wig! Also, The 503 in Iowa Falls seems to have made us their house band (!) booking 3 more dates into the fall. We're gonna miss being part of the Windsor Heights 4th of July celebration. The city has a new events coordinator and they're trying something else. It has been an absolutely FABULOUS run (I think 7 years) on Independence Day gatherings in Windsor Heights, I'll look forward to any other possibilities in that cool Des Moines suburb. The good news would be that we're now freed up to play at that 4th of July deck party at your vacation home on the lake!... In a fit of spring cleaning (many of you know that "cleaning" and Bob Dorr rarely are seen in the same room together) I stumbled on yet another long lost Blue Treasure Trove! It was a shopping bag full of video tapes that I had searched for, five years ago when Iowa Public Television produced the 25 year history DVD! Some of the tapes are labeled: Little Red Rooster Band-1980, Blue Band-Showboat Lounge (Cedar Rapids) 1984, Rock The Boat-Blue Band River Cruise-1986, Blue Band on KWWL TV-Iowa Illustrated Feature (I think that was around 1985), Bobby's Blue Band at Stebs-1985, Blue Band LIVE from the Fair (IPTV) 1988, Blue Band at Bluesmore-2001 (can that REALLY be 10 years ago already?) (YIKES!) And for every tape that is marked, there is at least two tapes that are unmarked! I'm both curious and apprehensive about what's on those tapes! I was meant to find these archival tapes this 30th year! I do indeed live a charmed life... Phil (The Wizard of Wires/Sultan of Solder/Knave of Knobs) Maass, Jeff, and I have been slowly mixing some of the recordings from the annual New Years Eve celebration. We played some songs (Bringin' It Back From Mexico, See Ya Later Alligator, Run Rudolf Run) that we hadn't played in a long time (I'm thinkin' it's been at least 10 years for Bringin' It Back) and we got a cool take of Santa's Got A Lot On His Mind with Matt Woods playin' slide guitar, plus Joe Price leading the band thru his signature song The Iowa Crawl. There's really not enough stuff to put out a full CD, tho'. Plans are currently to share some of those songs with you on the website, or perhaps have a 30th Anniversary "Best of New Year's Eve" CD out by the summertime. Speaking of NYE, we're hoping to have this year's bash at the Hilton Gardens again, but nothing has been finalized. We'd love to hear your comments about recent NYE galas, good or bad, and really would like to get your take on how we could make the event better. Just reply to this note with your take... Saturday night's Backtracks rock'n'roll history radio show will be another live requestfest. Reply to this note if you have suggestions or call in during the show at 800-772-2440, ext. 5. I answer all the calls myself, if you get thru, let it ring until I can answer. Remember the show deals exclusively with songs that are at least 25 years old. Find the frequency in your area or listen anywhere on the planet at www.iowapublicradio.org. The show runs 7-10pm CDT... OK, so that's all The Blue Band news, if that's all ya need, you're outta here, see ya next week at The Riverside... Here's a string of replies from the last note (other than "unsubscribe): Hi Bob. I love reading your column. Today's was especially meaningful as you helped so many ponder one of life's mysteries - how to get something out of it at every stage. I am something like 10 years younger than you, Sometime it would be great to read the advice you would now give to your self when you were 45/46/47ish. I want to make decisions now that will ensure I am still chasing my dreams, like you, when I am finding my way when my heart still has it but my body is slowing down... "Worry is like interest paid on a debt that never comes due." Life is tough. You are tougher. Still, if you ever get the chance, move south. I do not miss winter at all, and you shall not miss shoveling snow...OK my dear friend Bob. first of all quit using terms like "traumatic situation" because your washer died. the only time you should use those two thoughts in the same sentence is if your washer was a human being NOT when it is a machine. You got to relax or as a 4 year old would say re ax re-ax re-ax. remember it is all about THE CAKE...Your newsletters are one of the many things I count on to help me through these long and dreary Iowa winters. Getting to the Botanical Center is nice too and fairly inexpensive way of feeling like I am in the tropics, give it a try when you are in town...YIKES! 18 years, I was so looking forward to the 50th Anniversary of the Blue Band, at least reunion! If The Blind Boys of Alabama can boast a career of over 60 years then you gotta hang in there Bob... Have you gotten a snowblower yet? If your back does not hurt from shoveling – odds are good you won’t hate the snow quite so much. Don’t think of it as getting older – part of this age thing is an attitude adjustment, a big challenge for me some days, sigh, So don’t think older, think of it as getting smarter and getting a new power tool/toy. Who doesn’t like power toys?...Here's the problem - most people are thinking about the uncertainty and fear and lack (what they do not want) and then they wonder why it keeps showing up. Focus on what you CHOOSE, not what is lacking. Lack mentality brings more lack. Abundance mentality brings more abundance. It's the Law of Attraction and it has no cosmic scale of what is "good or bad" or "right or wrong" - it just gives you what you focus on, change your focus (I always say "fake it till you make it"! :-) Every day I close my eyes and visualize what I choose as if I already achieved it. I feel it. I could go on and on. It has worked in my life time and time again... That bit on retirement is a bit dark, isn’t it? Regarding why are you living here, I might know. I wasn’t at your New Year’s Eve show, but I did see a number of photo’s of it. Do you really think New Year’s would have been that much fun if you suddenly lived somewhere else?... Love the newsletters! Keep em coming! Love the washing machine bit!... I have some wonderful people on this e-list don't ya think? Some quick responses to those replies: At the moment, the advice I'd now give myself when I was 45: Take better care of your teeth!...What, me worry?...What do you mean the death of my washing machine isn't traumatic? I've had that washer 21 times as long as I've had a wife, but you are correct-IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CAKE!...Love the Botanical Center idea...Hmmm, I'm thinkin' The Blue Band at 50 years old would be looking pretty scary, but I love a challenge. After this 30th Anniversary, the next goal would be to get to 33 1/3...Have NOT gotten a snowblower yet, but I'm expecting my new washer to be delivered on Saturday...I'm likin' the "visualization" method. Open yer mind and picture this...Retirement is something foreign to this workaholic, I'm gonna have to work on that attitude... Along with the bag of vintage video tapes, I found a very tattered and discolored copy of a saying that I had routinely read almost daily for inspiration, but have forgotten in recent years. It says: Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent... So it all boils down to two things: persistence and CAKE! And speaking of CAKE, happy birthday, today, to my mother-in-law Ruth Prins. I don't know how old she is, but I'm gonna guess around 60.... See yas on the Blue Highway (whoa, have you seen those gas prices lately?) Happy day after St. Patrick's Day (I'm not Irish, I'm Iowaish) Keep rubbin' that washboard and don't forget we love you. Bob Dorr & The Blue Band