THE ANSWER to Classic Rock...

Probably the best "classic rock" cover band performing today, THE ANSWER, has been around in some form since the late 1960's.

Formed by Jim Searing and Van Mosley, these long time school chums have weathered jobs, careers, families and the usual ups and downs of the music industry to hold the title as maybe the most successful working band in the greater LA area.

No easy task when the competition is stiff and venues are scaling down or being taken over by  recorded music.  These guys have a calendar that leaves few days off the entire year.

I had the opportunity to work with these guys when I was just getting started as a professional singer, and learned from the best.  Their meticulous attention to  vocal harmony taught me invaluable lessons and the overall perfection demanded by the band, although at times difficult, honed me into a better singer and performer.

Around the time disco was "king", the band took some time off and we all went different directions. I started my own band, and set out on the road for many adventures and years of perfecting my craft. 

But it always came up in conversation about influences that led to my decision to pursue active performing, my tenure with The Answer.

Thanks to the Internet and networking, I found my long lost friends in cyberspace. Back together with longtime partner, Dave Slater and an incredible singing drummer, Ray Garobo.

Still setting the standard for all other cover bands, the band plays 300 dates a year or more.

I was invited to do some shows with the band last summer as "Stevie Nicks" in duet with Van--who by the way can and does sound like anyone he is covering from Jim Morrision to Tom Petty---

It was like coming home for me. To be on stage again with these guys is nothing short of inspirational.

This summer I am excited to be doing more shows with The Answer and am looking forward to rocking with these great musicians.  If you are in Southern California, try and catch a show--you will see why they are called "The Answer to Classic Rock." A title well deserved.

http://www.theanswertoclassicrock.com

Upcoming Shows with The Answer:

May 9- Private Event 

June 20-Concert in The park Laguna Hills

July 3- City of La Mirada Concert in the Park

July 4-City of La Verne Concert in the Park

July 13- Concert in The Park Glendora

July 24- Concert in The Park Rancho Cucamonga big EFX show!

July 27- Concert in The Park Rancho Santa Margarita

August 9-Concert at Discovery Center Big Bear Lake

August 23- Flashback Glendora Classic Car Show big EFX show!

August 27- La Habra Concert in The Park

August 31- Concert in The Park La Verne

September 1-Lake Arrowhead Center Stage Big EFX show!

September 3- City of Temple City Concert in The Park

September 6- Concert in The Park Santa Ana

September 24- Los Angeles County Fair Concert

Chapter THREE

We made it through the first few nights relatively unscathed.  Except for a few small blunders, things seemed to be going Ok.  Although we were not sure this was 'our man', we continued rolling through the first week.

I think it was Wednesday of the following week that I decided to do something odd and take the service stairs down to the lobby. Usually, I just turn right out of my door and hop the elevator. but today, I thought the 'exercise' would do me good.

Obviously, I was not alone in my thinking.  About halfway down, I was met by Mike coming up the stairs. He was decked out in a jogging suit and had on a neck brace.

I didn't ask.  I just smiled as we passed each other in the stairwell.

Looking back in retrospect, don't know exactly what came next.  Somewhere into the third week, all hell broke loose.

Once again, potatoes were flying into the next county. It was impossible to match volumes with Mike. It was like he was on a mission to see how loud he could crank up his amp.  Notes from the bar poured unto the stage.  I was afraid we were going to get fired.  

Knowing how guitarists hate to be asked to turn down, I gently offered, "Mike, I think we all need to come down a little." That's it! I will blame everyone equally!

Mike dug in his heels. He let his axe go slack around his shoulders and stood there while the band played on without him.

"what the...." I was thinking in a flash. 

I turned around and Mike had grabbed a note scrawled on a napkin and upon tearing it into pieces, had shoved gobs into his ears. Then he gazed at me defiantly.  

During the break, I was simmering. About ready to boil over, I questioned him.

"why did you do that?"

"I am partially deaf, and you were too loud!" came the response.

"Huh?"

Later that night we had the requisite band meeting sans Mike.  We figured he was adding another beer to the collection. We all voted that Mike needed to go back home or wherever he was from.

A meeting was called the next morning on our only day off.  Upon telling Mike it wasn't working out, he started pacing and gnashing his teeth in anger. 

I thought the beer bottles were going to explode at any time. I scanned the room just in case.

Mike then stormed out of his own room, leaving us with St. Pauli Girl looking forlornly atop his television set.

I was on the phone again to the contact agency. "Please send us another guitarist as soon as possible. yes, today would be good"

In my sanctuary, I hunkered down on the bed and stared at the Turkey. Two more weeks here and then on to another town and more adventures. Another new player was on the way. Mike was leaving that evening.

I awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming in through a crack in the blackout curtains. A small envelope was slide under my door.

Mike had written me his Swan Song. I had offered him a customary two week notice, but he had slipped out in the middle of the night in a fit of anger.

I read the letter slowly and not once but twice.  Some of his ramblings even made some sense.  Something about having worked as a bus driver, a janitor, a therapist (?), a car wash attendant and a musician finally.

Even though the thoughts seemed disjointed, I pondered the last and final line.

"You saw as much of me as the Titanic saw of the iceberg that sunk it!"

St. Pauli girl was going home.

Chapter TWO

Rehearsals began the next day. I figured we all needed to sleep on it.

Mike slowly studied the charts, picking here and there. It was going to be a slow go.

He appeared to be a capable, if somewhat, cautious player. Maybe we were going to be OK.

After a long afternoon, we all retired to our standard issue hotel rooms. As with most traveling bands, there are the customary gratis accommodations the employer provides. Sometimes, these digs are hotel rooms but can also be band houses, trailers and camp grounds. Some are better than others and some are not better than anything.

The Holiday Inn was nice though not luxurious. There were double beds (one to sleep on, one to throw your laundry on), a TV  and a gigantic childlike drawing of a turkey framed over the dresser.  Upon closer examination, it seemed to be a Native American depiction of a bird.  Everyone got one in their room. Standard issue turkey picture.  

Since we would be out on the 'road' for sometimes months on end, we would bring little tokens of our other life with us. Just little things to decorate our spaces and separate us from the sameness of life in a hotel room.

Mike Halsey obviously gave this some thought before he struck out on the road. that afternoon we helped him unload six heavy boxes from his trunk.

As we pondered the contents, he must have picked up the vibe. "Hey, come up to the room in about an hour and check out what I brought!" he smiled back.

Our curiosity had been ignited. books? rare albums? Now, we could see what made this guy tick.

It was Beer Bottles.

Lots of beer bottles. He had brought six boxes of bottles with him from LA. The collection was displayed carefully all over his hotel room. Lining the dresser top, along the window sills, on top of the TV. Even in the cramped bathroom. It was a sight to behold.

And he was a man of varied taste. He had Heineken's, Buds, Red Stripes, Coors, and the more exotic brands as well. Right down to St. Pauli Girl.

I wondered to myself if had actually drank all these beers. Then I thought it would be even stranger if he hadn't.

Mike beamed with pride that this collection had crossed the USA several times and had been procured over 5 years. I guess maybe it was a good pick up line at the very least, "Hey! Wanna come up to my room and check out my beer bottle collection?"

St. Pauli Girl was with us there in all her glory at a Holiday Inn in Albuquerque.

To Be Continued.....

ST PAULI GIRL MEETS THE ICEBERG--CHAPTER ONE

This is the first of a series of TRUE life experiences of a musician on "the road" circa 1970s.

By Michelle

-------

Albuquerque, NM

It was time to get a new guitarist, that was for certain.

Life as a traveling musician  means uncertainty and almost guarantees a well-greased turnstile of a revolving door.

Into our second month at the Albuquerque Holiday Inn and "Carlos" decides he's been reborn as Jimi Hendrix. As if possessed, one evening he strolls into the lounge, picks up his stratocaster during the "dinner set" and cranks it to "11". Needless to say, I fear someone got a baked potato launched into Taos.

I think he just kind of snapped.  Let me explain. Life on the road can be exciting or extremely dull. This particular gig was fraught with slow nights and playing our set to candles.  Occasionally, we would have the 'good' weekend night when the National Rodeo Association would be in town and things really rocked. More than often, we would sit at the bar and nurse beers until it was time to pack up. Not exactly what young musicians from LA had envisioned.

Carlos just hit the wall. He would turn up the volume and with eyes closed, retreat into some smoky club on the LA Sunset Strip. It was time he went home.

We called up a musicians contact service in Los Angeles to send out another "victim". I told the voice on the other end, that maybe we needed someone not quite as young and ambitious, a "seasoned player", someone who could handle rejection nightly. You know, A "Pro".

"Mike" drove out the next day. Armed with a cadre of Outlaws and Eagles cassettes, he enjoyed the long hours behind the wheel. When he arrived on our one day off, I met him in the hotel lobby.

Standing near the local attractions kiosk, Mike looked tall and thin. Seemed to me he either had a receding hairline or a high forehead. I was not sure. His eyes were small set and rather bird-like and darted quickly to meet my gaze. His nose was large and prominent and contributed to an odd look. Okay, he didn't have the charisma of the young Carlos, but with the right attitude, I was sure he would make up for lack of pizazz in the looks department.

"Hi, I am so glad you could come out so quickly. It's great to meet you!" I held out my hand. "Do you want to start rehearsals today ?"

Mike studied my face and nodded quickly, "yes, that would be fine".

Then the air got still and there was a long pregnant pause. I struggled to make small talk. You know, the kind of 'let's get to know each other better' talk.

"So, do you have family back in LA?" I figured that was a fair question.

With my inquiry met with silence, I struggled to get more specific. "Wife, girlfriend?". Mike shifted uncomfortably. I was thinking to myself, "this is great! this guy probably has a tragic story, and here I am opening wounds!"

"What do you mean by that? Girlfriend? Wife", came the response.

"Well, um, I was just wondering...." I was caught off guard.

"Are you saying that it seems like I don't have a wife or I can't get a girlfriend?"

Mike clearly was on the defensive.

"No! not at all! I'm so sorry!" came springing from my lips as I thought "we are in BIG trouble".

Suddenly, I was longing for Purple Haze. But it was too late, Carlos had hit the road. We were here and Mike Halsey was our guitarist for better or for worse.

to be continued.....

Getting The Groove on At The Grove

CuppaJoe did back to back shows this weekend at the Grove at Farmers Market. Back to back meaning a "long day".

There are usually two 'shifts' and one band will play in the afternoon and then the nighttime band takes over. Often, we will do both shifts and really get a workout.

We always enjoy doing outdoors shows and the Grove is the place to get your "groove on". Amidst dancing fountains and a street scene comparable to some of the great downtown meeting places, we always feel a little bit like we are in an amusement park.

Introducing CRICKET

I thought I would take today and introduce CRICKET. She is a mini cat. By that I mean, she weights only about 4 pounds and is about the size of a large kitten, though fully grown. Some would call her a 'runt'...I took Cricket in from a shelter when she was only 4 months old.

This little cat is so unusual. She only wants to really sit on my lap when I am at the computer (like right now) and she will turn and turn and turn in my lap and when she is finally happy with her position...start to drool. No one has taught her not to drool on the one you love.

This is a picture of Cricket.

The Green Season

As I see it, Southern California has only two seasons....A "green" one and a "brown" one, and the "brown" one lasts considerably longer.

When the "green" season finally arrives, it is breathtaking.  The hills outside my window are awash in cloaks of glorious green.  I can't imagine Ireland looking much different than early spring in So Cal. And for a few very short weeks, everything is growing and stretching into the sunlight. 

One of my daily rituals is to literally 'stop and smell the roses'.  Each day there is a new unfolding of wonder along the walkway.  I have planted rose trees outside my door and the perfume from the Angel Face roses in the early morning is intoxicating. 

Soon enough the hillsides will be coated with flecks of yellow as the wild mustard begins to signal an end to the "green" and the "brown" season will start in earnest.

It's just the way it is, here on the edge of the Western World.

APRIL FOOLS DAY

Ok. Today is the day wherein you can act stupid, make up hoaxes and jokes and perpetrate them on family members, co-workers and friends---and still have friends, family members and co-workers on April 2nd. 

Hopefully, no one is going into a bank with a plastic gun and then cheerfully exclaiming, "Just joking, April Fools!"

I remember back when I was in elementary school, it really was a day that we could 'get behind'. All in the name of Good Clean Fun. Not quite, the old-fashioned dipping the girls pigtails in the ink well, or the  whopee cushion on the teachers chair---that was soooooo 1950's...

But more like pranking your best friend with something like "Oh my, there's a gigantic spider on your sandwich!" while flinging your arms in the air." Just kidding, April Fools!"

Today all the fun has been taken out of this whimsical non-holiday.  Can you imagine the bank scenario? Oh Ok. Maybe that is an extreme April Fools gag, I admit..But even something as "innocent" as the spider in the sandwich gag. In todays' PC world---you could get sued for causing stress or pain and suffering or sending your friend to the office with a panic attack.

Anyway, If you pranked today with GUSTO---good for you. If not, there is still time.