More memories & news

 

I played a gig in Bend with Renato Caranto, Edwin Coleman III (from Soul Vaccination) and Derek Sims this past Saturday.  The gig was great: part of the Jazz At Joe's series.  The ride home was expected to be another thing--a long, grueling affair, fighting off sleep, fog, and oncoming headlights all the way.  But it turned out to be enjoyable as Edwin and I shared stories from "the Way Back Machine."


He particularly enjoyed my tale about having to tackle a giant drunk at Portland, OR's Candlelight one night back in the day.  Having brought the guy down (he'd begun to charge me), I found myself pinned underneath, yelling, "Help!  Get him off me!"  That image had Edwin in stitches.

We also told stories from our earlier days.  Edwin kept me entertained talking about his high school athletic exploits and about playing with his dad, a great jazz bassist.  And I had stories about my Bay Area gigging days.


Speaking about that, yesterday I came across a rare recording: the demo tape I made with Bruce Conte's Hot Street back in '82.  Check it out; one of the tracks, "Somebody New," is at this site now under "Audio."  

I definitely had a lot of good times & interesting experiences before moving to Portland, Oregon back in '86.  But there's no question: the best part of my life & music career has been the 25 years I've spent in the NW.  Up here I've graduated from college, played with many wonderful musicians, built a Hammond B-3 rental business, purchased my first home (try doing that in San Francisco!), and, best of all, met and married my lovely wife (and manager) Tracy Turner-Pain.  Live is good up here in P-Town.

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