It’s Summertime! Hurry up and relax!

Well...  Here we are...   On the internet...  Again!

When aren’t we on the internet? Speaking for myself, not enough, but often. It’s a good feeling to get away from the screen and keyboard. Just this morning I was drinking coffee and reading the morning paper. (Yes, they’re still printing newspapers.)

In that paper, I noticed an advertisement for a blues festival coming up in July, the same ad I’d seen in the same spot where it was in last week’s entertainment section. This reminded me that print advertising works best when it’s repeated often enough to penetrate the oversaturated brains of us modern media sapiens.

Products, services, and events (yer church picnics, yer county fairs, yer blues festivals), are all competing for our attention. It’s a war out there. Maybe you feel like relaxing, but “out there,” in the papers and on the internet, the war for your attention rages.

Yes, we know. It’s SUMMERTIME. You should be relaxing. Or having family fun. You know, “making memories.” The pressure to do so mounts. Finalize those plans! Get packed! Gas up the car! Hurry up! Fun and relaxation can’t wait!

There is an industry intent on making your relaxation their business. Musicians, whether they like it or not, are part of that industry. They want a piece of your hard-earned relaxation time. And money. (Hey, guitar strings aren’t free.)

I’m a musician. But I’d rather be making music than pestering people about attending one of my performances. And that’s why this here humble attempt at internet infotainment is completely optional. Read it if you have the time and inclination. Attend one of the performances listed below if you’re in the neighborhood and need some diversion. Or just click on a link or two, or, most importantly, increase our cred with a FB like.

Let’s face it, if you’ve read this far, you are part of an elite group. If you’d like to ratchet up your elite status, you could leave a comment. Go ahead. Lemme have it! The good, the bad, and the f-ugly! Anything but the lonesome echo of my own e-yodeling.

Meanwhile:
Tonight, Friday, June 17, The BirddogBlues Band plays at the Monroe Balloon Rally. 8:30pm
Saturday, June 18, The Birddog Blues Band plays at the Lancaster Blues and Brews festival. Noon to 2:30.
Thursday, June 24, Faux Fawn, the brainchild of singer/songwriter Paul Otteson, opens up for Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Sunset Music Series at the East Side Club on the shore of beautiful Lake Monona. 6 to 9 pm
Friday, June 24, The Sparks Band plays familiar and obscure 60s hits at The Hody Bar in Middleton. 9pm
Thursday, June 30, Big Wes Turner’s Trio rocks The Essen Haus. (So many beers, so little...) 8:30 pm.

After that, July! So much relaxation! It’s gonna be CRAZY!!!
Check back.

Then and Now (and Later)

What gives? you ask. What's goin' on? you wonder.

Here's what happened last Saturday?
Big Wes Turner’s Trio was blessed with clear skies, a beautiful bug-free evening, and a patio filled with the kind of folks who enjoy all of that and a great beer from the taps of Tyranena Brewery. Guitar slinger Gary Hendrickson was back from knee-rehab and playing like he meant it.

How ‘bout last Wednesday?
Faux Fawn, the brainchild of singer/songwriter Paul Otteson, performed at the High Noon Saloon, Madison’s premiere live music venue. Paul, Luke, Audre, Doug, and me. I’m so pleased and proud to part of it. We opened for L. Arvid on the occasion of his CD release. Thanks to him, opener Jack (Wow!), and the boisterously appreciative audience.

How ‘bout tonight? (Friday)
It’s the deck at Sprecher’s on Madison’s west side, where I’ll be sitting in with my friends in The Sparks band. All 60s all night! We’re talking Kinks, Beatles, Stones, Beau Brummels(!), Left Banke (!!), and much more. (Starting at 7pm)

And what about the future?
The Birddog Band plays in the park in Janesville on Tuesday evening. (7pm-ish)
On Wednesday, Big Wes Turner’s Trio plays a private party at a very swanky undisclosed location in Madison.
The very next night, Big Wes Turner’s Trio welcomes guest artistes Chuck Bayuk and Frankie Lee to our odd-Thursday-of-the-month gig at The Essen Haus (in Madison). Strummin’ starts hummin’ at 8:30 pm.

After that?
You'll have to check back.