No foolin'! It's already the first Friday of the month and that means it's GEEEEZER GIG time, TONIGHT (4/1) at The Hub, 4th & Main, Sparkle City USA, 6-9:30-ish. Al will be off doin' his thing with the Coe College Jazz Band, (it's also his birthday!) (NOT an April Fools joke) so Eddie will lead the section with the two high school sax guys, Cole Pumber and Mason Meyers, joining us on some tunes throughout the night. Avis' husband Bob said he'd bring one of his 400 guitars (ok, maybe he doesn't have quite that many, but he always brings the green one anyway) and all of a sudden, we've got an 8 piece band up there! Maybe you should bring PIE! (April Fool!)...
It's the good news/bad news/good news with respect to The Hub. The first good news is that they've invited The Blue Band to celebrate our 30th Birthday out in their beer garden, Sat. June 11, 7:15-10:15-ish. If it rains, we'll just bring the party into the music room. It is especially nice to have a place in Sparkle City to celebrate this milestone b-day. We started the band at 8th and Tremont street in Cedar Falls and have been based here ever since. (please, no snide comments about "boy, Bob, your music career sure has taken off during the last three decades") Maybe you should bring CAKE for that one! The bad news: The First Friday gigs will stop after next month's May 6th show. The good news: That's because next season (starting in October) we're moving to the SECOND Friday! I have had some scheduling changes putting pressures on First Fridays, so Marcus at The Hub offered trying the second week. I cannot stress enough how great it is to be working with the staff at The Hub. We play there 10 times a year. We only play 70-75 dates a year anymore, so you can see that The Hub is THE major employer of our band. To have that kind of support and encouragement from our hometown bar is unparalleled in our 30 year history. We'll look forward to seeing you there for years to come...
After that, we're looking forward to playing the Campbell/Steele Gallery in Marion on Fri. Apr. 15, 7-10p. Heath said he'd make the trip from Des Moines to join Al in the horn section and rumor has it that another very important sax player in Blue Band history will play a few songs with us! (can you say Gary King?!). The night before Easter, April 23, we're at The 503 in Iowa Falls...
Some other bad news/good news. The bad: Because of the uncertainty of the funding in Congress for National Public Radio, Iowa Public Radio has decided it cannot sponsor a riverboat cruise this year. (yes, I am a little confused, as the riverboat rides have ALWAYS made money) However (the good news) The Spirit of Dubuque knew that the cruise (June 3) was also going to be a band birthday celebration (our first gig was in Dubuque, June 10, 1981) and has invited us to keep the date and have the party on the boat! We're on a very limited advertising budget for this special event, so please help spread the word that the party is happening. Ticket information can be obtained directly from the boat, http://www.dubuqueriverrides.com or 563-583-8093 starting today. The Blue Band will also be selling tickets. We'll have more information on that in the next couple of weeks. Remember, the boat only holds 300 people. This is our only currently scheduled riverboat cruise this summer. Don't miss the boat!...
There are still some prime Saturday night dates available during the summer outdoor season. If you want your date listed on the back of the Tour shirt, book it soon, as long time band logo designer Steve Campbell says he's real close to being finished with the 30th Anniversary logo design (you DID say that, didn't you Steve?) and we'll be going to the t-shirt printer shortly after he's done. Booking info at: http://www.theblueband.com/contactBob.htm...
Another REALLY cool partnership with Sparkle City came to fruition today. Last summer at Sturgis Falls Days, Cedar Falls Cablevision (a City of Cedar Falls department) came out and recorded the show (three HD cameras and really fine audio quality) and then, because of copyright issues, edited it down to our original material and has run it on our local cable channel numerous times thru the year. We have been able to work out an agreement with the CF Cablevision Department that allows us to press and sell a limited duplication run of 500. Those DVDs arrived today. (thanks to the effort of Catamount Recording's Kitty Tatman) So here's the deal. Buy any Blue Band CD, shirt, or the history of The Blue Band DVD produced by Iowa Public TV for $10 and that new collector's item DVD (it runs 58 minutes) is FREE! Or you can purchase that new Live at Sturgis Falls Days DVD for $7! Add $3 if you'd like us to mail you one. How do we do it? VOLUME!! If there are any profits from the sale of this new DVD, we will split them 50/50 with Sparkle City Cablevision!...
In the rearranging of my garage and personal living space, The Blue Band's road manager Dennis MacRunnel has be very generous with his time and expertise. He's headed back to school and is between jobs at the moment and is supplementing his income by doing handyman services. He assembled and installed a number of needed shelves and storage units and installed a sink in my downstairs area. He seems to be able to fix just about anything and his fee is very reasonable. Thank you Dennis for making life so much easier and pleasant for me with all you do for the Blue Band and me...
Hmmm, 4:11am. Again. I don't think I'm gonna make it back out to the garage for more clutter management. See ya on the Blue Highway (all roads lead to The Hub) rub yer washboard tie to the tune of Why Do FOOLS Fall In Love, Wish Al a Happy Birthday, (we can celebrate, even if he's not there, as long as there's CAKE or PIE!) and always remember we love you. Bob Dorr & The Blue Band
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