Well, that's the bad news. But there's lots of good Blue News, so let's get to it. First, last week's gig at the Campbell/Steele Art Gallery was one of the most fun gigs of the year (so far) All of the table spaces were sold out. Long time friends came from Minneapolis, Chicago and from all over Cedar Rapids to help my friend Bob Donner celebrate his birthday (I couldn't say anything last week because the party was a surprise) Bob's wife brought the most incredible CAKE and we had 'em dancin' in the aisles (literally) especially when 2-time IA Rock'n'Roll Hall of Famer Ralph Stephens got up and played the washboard! (that's right, we had dueling washboards on some songs!) Many of my friends from the Linn County Blues Society were in attendance and their President (M. Frank Wilson) took lots of photos. See what ya missed right here: http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/5621806/1/Blue%20Band%20at%20Campbell%20Steele%20April%2015?h=03c2a8 Frank also wrote a very cool article for the LCBS Bluespaper for this month's edition, check that out at www.lcbs.org. And to top it off, we got booked back, right on the spot. See ya at this cool art gallery again, in the Fall, on Friday September 30...
And, speaking of cool little spots, we're back at The 503 in Eye Waffles (503 Estes St. Iowa Falls) Saturday night. I've mentioned before that I have played in this town for 35 years (I must have started playing there when I was 9 years old) We expect many of the old-timers to be there, returning to town to celebrate Easter with family. Get there early to claim a spot. A couple of pictures of us (then called The Little Red Rooster Band) playing in Iowa Falls at Dan's Place in 1977 can be seen at: http://www.theblueband.com/archives1.html (I'm sending you there just to prove that I DID have black hair at one time and if you scroll down the page, you can see that my fascination with CAKE started a long time ago) We play 9-midnight. Eddie will join Al in the horn section...
There was kind of a surprise, Easter egg hunt like, experience this week! I got a call from a CD distribution company that we worked with 10 years ago, out of St. Louis. They're going out of business and closing their warehouse and discovered some Blue Band titles tucked away in a remote corner. SO, we now have 22 copies of The Blue Band (released in 2000), 5 copies of Just A Dream (1999), 3 copies of IA Blues 4 (1997) and 5 copies of IA Blues 5 (1998)! These titles have been out of print for many years. They'll be for sale at the merchandise table while supplies last, same low price. How do we do it? VOLUME!!...
I also got a call from the folks at The Spirit of Dubuque Riverboat, saying I should remind you about the (one and only this year) Riverboat ride scheduled for Friday June 3 because, with absolutely no advertising, about 10% of the tickets are already sold! This is also a Blue Band birthday celebration, as our first gig was in Dubuque, June 10, 1981! It's also my wife Carolyn's birthday! Do I really need to state the obvious? BRING CAKE! Advance tickets for this 3 hour cruise (7-10p) are only $15. If there are any left (there's only room on the boat for 300 passengers) the day of show, they'll be $20. Need more info or advance tx? http://www.dubuqueriverrides.com/specialty.html We don't really have much of an advertising budget for this event (we're spending too much money on gas!) so please tell your friends: DON'T MISS THE BOAT!!...
We're not scheduled to play again until the final First Friday GEEEZER Gig at the Hub on May 6. This will be the last First Friday gig, not only for the season, but for the foreseeable future. We're not losing the monthly appearance at The Hub, we're moving it to the SECOND Friday when the series resumes in October. Also, remember that Jeff and I are doing our first duo gig in over 10 years on Sat. May 7 in an effort to raise money for The Food Chain, a feed the poor organization in Cedar Rapids. This takes place at The Sub City on 1st Ave, 6-9pm. Unless we get some last minute work, I'll be taking next week off from The Blue Notes (how can you miss me if I don't go away?) See ya on The Blue Highway (tip jar money will go directly to the gas fund) Rub yer washboard to the tune of The Bunny Hop, avoid green jello salad (somehow that always showed up at Easter dinner when I was a kid) wear yer Easter Bonnet with all the frills upon it and never forget that we love you. Bob Dorr & The Blue Band
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