and the Oregon Country Fair
WEDNESDAY
Technically it started on Wednesday when we had rehearsal for the upcoming shows and I met Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Of course it wasn't really the lads from Liverpool, but Mike (Paul) and Mark (John) were pretty close look-alikes and they sounded very close to the recordings I grew up listening to. We had a full-on Beatles show --early, mop-top era -- scheduled on Friday and a John Lennon tribute Saturday. It was originally planned that the faux four were going to cover all of the music themselves (imagine that -- impersonators playing their own instruments!), but when it was discovered that they had access to a keyboard player it was decided to seize the opportunity and try a few more tunes. I worked out the flute solo at the end of Hide Your Love Away, the organ part for We Can Work It Out, and the piano for Rock and Roll Music. (Many thanks to Andrea (and Monica) for use of the Beatles book this week!)
THURSDAY
Thursday we loaded up the van and trailer and headed south for Seven Feathers Casino. Once we were checked in and got settled into our rooms, Mark, Mike, John Shea (guitarist) and myself headed for the bar. It was pretty surreal sitting in the casino bar with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. After a few rounds the bar started clearing out and there were only two tables left in the whole place -- ours and a table of young girls right behind John Shea and me. One of the girls finally leaned over and asked, "are you guys musicians?" Um, yeah, that's Paul and that's John; they used to be in a band. We 'fessed up to being with the Legends show and they identified themselves as The Lipstick Girls, the current lounge act at the casino. We had seen posters up but had no idea what their act was about. Turns out they do a song and dance routine to tracks in skimpy outfits -- sweet and simple. They had just started at the casino a day or two before and told us horror stories about the house and trailer they were staying in offsite and that they were there for two months. They were probably fishing for a nice hotel room until they realized that we were only there for two nights and then back on the road. Poor girls.
FRIDAY
The next morning we got up way too early and did the whole load-in, set-up, sound check routine. Being the one musician playing for both the first part of the show -- Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and Elvis -- and The Beatles, I only got a 30 minute break and a one hour dinner/shower break before showtime. After tear-down and the load-out it was about a 14 hour day. After soundcheck with The Beatles it was decided to drop We Can Work It Out because the vocals were not coming together. Bummer, but the good news was I was only playing on two tunes and got to actually watch a lot of the Beatles show. It was f-ing unbelievable. "Ringo" played on Jamie's Ludwig Ringo set while "John" and "Paul" played a Rickenbacker and an Epiphone-copy of McCartney's violin bass through Vox Super Beatle amps and "George" played a Gretsch through a Vox AC30. There were moments when the hair on my neck stood up because it SOUNDED JUST LIKE THE RECORDS! I've played with Jamie's R-n-R Legends for about 13 months now and this was the first Beatles show I have been on. I forget how much I love that music.
After the load-out, the whole troupe made way to the bar where we met up once again with The Lipstick Girls. We hung out until the bar closed and the few of us left looked for somewhere and something to do. After a bit of discussion it was decided that we needed beer and I volunteered to run across the highway if Ray (Buddy Holly) would hold my stuff (I had not been to my room since before the show and was carting my stage clothes and miscellaneous items). We agreed to meet back in Ray's room. I made the run to the store hoping to get there before the 2:30 cut-off. I just made it but found out they won't sell alcohol after 2am, not 2:30. I hate the OLCC. After a long walk back trying to catch my breath from my run, I got to Ray's room and there was no one there. I tried calling the room, calling a few other folks in our entourage, and could not locate Ray or my stuff. I finally went down to the gambling floor where I found Ray. I guess they decided to wait for me outside at the hotel entrance and, of course, I came back in through the casino entrance. Everyone else had bailed, assuming that I had done the same, and Ray had tired of holding my crap and turned it in to the front desk for a claim check, thus making it impossible to get my stuff back until the next morning. I kicked Ray in the jimmy and went to bed.
SATURDAY
In the midst of a difficult morning after a few hours of sleep we all piled into the van and headed for Longview, Washington for the John Lennon show. I spent a good chunk of time on the drive trying to coordinate with Jessica over the phone the logistics of us spending that night at her friend Pam's house in Salem, how to get Nicholas to grandma's house, and how to get me and my gear from Longview to Salem after the show. Jamie drove about halfway when he started getting tired and I took the wheel. We had to stop at the airport to drop off Darlene (Jamie's wife) and Mike where they picked up the car left by "George" and "Ringo" who had flown out early that morning. Darlene and Mike went to the hotel to check Mike and Mark in for after the show while the rest of us continued north.
After a long day on the road we did the whole load-in, set-up and soundcheck again. We actually got there early, so we had time to eat dinner and get dressed for the show without rushing and had time to chat. I have to say that Mark is a great guy and I look forward to working with him again. Except for a period in high school when I was listening to a lot of Bob Dylan and wore a plain denim jacket while everyone else was wearing acid-wash, I have always considered myself to be partial to McCartney over Lennon, but I have to say that being the keyboard player on tunes like Starting Over, Come Together, Crippled Inside, In My Life, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (playing the sitar part), and, of course, Imagine will go into my top ten onstage experiences. The two sets were really fun and Mark is probably as close to John Lennon as your gonna get, onstage and off.
After the show I loaded my gear into the trailer and took Mike, Mark and their gear in the car to their hotel near the airport. From there I headed to Jamie's house where Jessica had dropped off our car, transferred my gear from the trailer to the car, and headed south to Salem. I arrived shortly after 2am -- about 350 miles, a two-set show, and 16 hours after leaving Seven Feathers -- and I was able to start winding down and crash.
SUNDAY
Jessica woke me up with coffee at some hour of the morning that I normally would not deal with. But this was not a normal morning and even strong coffee and a shower could barely conquer the lack of sleep and long days that had preceded. After relieving the car of my gear into Pam's garage, we headed to breakfast and then south. I slept pretty much immediately after breakfast, but we stopped outside of Corvallis to pick up Linda and then continued on south to Veneta, just west of Eugene. We showed up at the Oregon Country Fair around noon and made our way inside.
It was my first year at OCF, but I had heard much about it from Jessica who had been the year before. It was at OCF where she discovered Utilikilts and brought home the catalog. We walked around, sampled the cuisine, checked out the crafters, listened to a lot of good and interesting music, mingled with the freaks, and generally had a great time. For those who have never been, I would estimate that the OCF is like Saturday Market times fifty with a bit of Mardi Gras, a Phish/Dead vibe, and a really cool music scene. It's supposed to be alcohol and drug free, but I caught several whiffs of evidence to the contrary. Still, no one was visibly compromised and, between that, some childcare programs, and an entire loop devoted to kids, it was pretty child-friendly (assuming you don't mind exposing your child to the scene). If we can work it out, Jessica and I are talking about getting three-day passes and bringing Nicholas camping with us next year.
We were able to resist the urge to buy a lot of stuff that was very tempting, though we did pick up quite a bit of info on yurts and I ordered a print from a guy who did amazing live concert photography. We met Steve Villegas, the creator of the Utilikilt, and he was very gracious. We stopped to watch several performers, some of whom were scheduled acts and others who were just set up along the path. We saw a couple parades go through. It was a blast! I wish I hadn't been so tired, but there was something very satisfying about playing a John Lennon show one night and then spending the next day among the hippies.
I put more pictures up here.
It was a long, exhausting, and very satisfying weekend. One of those life reaffirming times that make you re-examine where you are and remind you why your on the path you're on.
7.13.04
