Mini Vacations and Guitars
Each one of these band shows is like a small vacation from everyday normality. Most of the time, it’s a good thing. I always liken it to running away with the circus, except it is more fun, because I get to rock out on guitar.
This trip we head out Route 47 to Walker. It is a rural area, with very nice scenery, but seems like an unlikely location for lots of customers. So much for stereotypes, as the place is already busy when we arrive. The Hillbilly Inn sits on the side of the road in a curve, and although we get there three hours before show time, the lot is full of cars. Lucky for us, the owner has saved us a parking space close to the door, to make the load in easy.
Some rock bands might be put off by the club’s name, thinking it would only appeal to country music fans, but let’s not stereotype again. Lots of country bands have played here, and that’s what is playing on the jukebox as we go in, but here I should mention that Poobah has five CDs on this jukebox, too. (This is because Poobah is now on over 100,000 jukeboxes in the USA and Canada). This fact impresses the owners, and that pleases me. I shove a few bucks in the jukebox, and play some choice Poobah songs, to let customers get a handle on what we sound like. They seem to like it, so it gives the band confidence that we will have another fun “vacation night.”
After setting up the stage gear, I order a cheeseburger, and it was tasty. Bassist George DiGiovanni tests his microphone while I sit in the audience, and notice the sound system sounds really clear in this room. This is a good thing. Drummer Mike Fortino does a test of his drum levels, and we are ready for takeoff.
We perform a mixture of rock, blues, and psychedelia. Tonight it is definitely working, as people dance all evening. The crowd is friendly, and cheers loudly, making it quite fun for the guys in the band. Some of the ladies on the dance floor entertain us with wild dancing, and we laugh so much our faces start to hurt. This is a good thing.
Later, as the show comes to an end, I pull out my acoustic guitar for the encore. I usually play it some, earlier in the evening, but the energy level was so high, I waited till now. We get the dance floor packed one more time, as we play a pretty slow song, from one of our CDs, called “Learning to Live.”
We say goodnight, and in a few minutes, start to tear down the equipment. My lovely girlfriend Lori reminds me that we need to take a picture for Graffiti, of some of our new friends here at the Hillbilly Inn. By the way, the owners Ken and Cheryl, are nice people, and treated us well. We had another great time.
Till next time, enjoy,
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Contact Poobah at letters@graffitiwv.com