Many of you know that a few years ago Larry Griffith got inspired somehow to introduce me onstage as King George, and through repeated use that name has stuck. I wasn't crazy about it at first, after all King George was the main reason we Americans got fed up enough to have a revolution; he was insane with syphilis, and according to some accounts he wasn't even sure where America was on the globe and didn't really care as long as we paid our escalating taxes. But I digress. By now I rather enjoy the regal fun of it all, and Larry has just started billing the band that includes me (he has several lineups) as Larry Griffith and The King's Court. Thanks, Sir Larry, you may rise.
Wednesday nights continue to grow at Bella Bocca in Marietta. It's a sweet little venue, but hard to see from the street. Just go west from the Marietta square about 1.5 miles on Whitlock. When you see Burnt Hickory Road fork off to the right, you'll see the Clock Tower strip mall (no strippers there, for some reason) on the left. Turn in, and Bella Bocca is in the anchor position in the upper corner. We start there at 8PM.
One patron/fan, Matt Chaney (no relation to the Dick) turned out to be a pretty decent bedroom guitarist, but with no stage experience. We talked guitar for a while, and he emailed me his YouTube links of himself playing along with a few popular records. I told him it's easy to get on stage, just bring a guitar and we'll go to Nik's after work at Bella Bocca. This week he did, we did, and Aaron was nice enough to put us onstage together. Matt performed more than adequately, and I consider him ready to start working in bands. I'm just sorry his sweetie Jessica wasn't there quite soon enough to see it, but she did see the backslapping and feel the nearly-sexual buzz that a musician gets from a group performance he's really proud of. Next time we'll time it better, Matt.
Which brings me to this: Folks, if you want to perform onstage, it's not hard to get started. Talk to me, and I'll arrange it. I have years of jam experience, hosting and playing, and I can give you lots of tips, or even private lessons to prepare. One of the best uses of the jams are as a farm system, to bring in new talent and keep our beloved music nourished and refreshed (so we don't just become a world of non-playing non-singing rappers). When it's done right, it's the best drug there is, and with none of the terrible side effects of other addictions. In fact, it can be healthy for you, like sex, as it stimulates many of the same chemical systems and can be quite physical. So, let's play.
The last couple of Thursday nights I've been performing with Larry at Joel's Tavern, and this is a venue I like. Right at the east entrance to Life University (Hwy 41 & Barclay) they draw a young crowd that has really responded well to our blend of classic rock, Motown and classic R&B. They built us a nice new stage, and have capacity for a couple hundred happy people. Thanks to my old pal Heather from Darwin's for hooking us up. South of the 120 Loop about 0.7 miles, turn at the big yellow Waffle House. We start there at 9PM.
I've had some pretty good radio shows lately too - in recent shows I've had Radio Cult (a very fun show band), Barry Richman, Chris Duarte, Gwen Hughes, and more. You can download my shows free here at Radio Sandy Springs.
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