Glad You Asked!

We all have questions, don’t we? Questions that SCREAM for answers. Like...

What is Big Wes Turner’s Trio up to?

Well, below is the latest near-future calendar. Note the plethora (by our humble standards) of outdoor shows. Yup, summertime means music al fresco, so get out and enjoy it while you can.

Anyone in the SW quadrant of the our fair state might consider our early-evening August 2nd concert in lovely Lake Marion Park (SE outskirts of Mazomanie—sponsored by the Mazomanie Music Conservancy). Food and beer available, but bring something to sit on. There’s ample space inside the park shelter should the weather take a turn for the worse.

The aforementioned Mazomanie Music Conservancy sponsors an intimate concert on the first Fridays of the month. Check it out. You’ll find Big Wes’s drummer and vocalist Rick Becker there holding it down for the house band.

And while Rick does just that on Friday, August 5, Tom will be sitting in with The Sparks Band on the patio at Sprechers (in Middleton) from 6 to 9, playing a deep repertoire of hits and obscurities from the 60s.

And, the very same evening you can find Paul Otteson and a truncated collection of his band, Faux Fawn, playing at Appleton’s big Mile of Music event (check the schedule).

On Friday, August 12, harmonica-man Frankie Lee leads a laid-back trio version of The Maintainers that includes Tom and guitarslinger extraordinaire Mel Ford through several sets out on the patio at Tyranena Brewing (from 6 to 9).

Questions?

Update!

On the deck, overlooking the river, in Rockdale. A great time and place to hang out over a brewski.

Where we at?

Thanks for getting on our case, Amy!

Of course, that's just the Big Wes Turner's Trio schedule. There IS more.

Tom joins the rest of The Midwesterners from 6 to 8 for a concert at Harriet park in Verona (then races across town for the BWT3 downbeat at the Essen Haus).

On Friday the 8th it's late night "chamber folk" at Tempest (downtown on Doty) with singer/songwriter Paul Otteson's band, Faux Fawn.

On Saturday the 9th Tom is playing a wedding, but Gary and the rest of the Birddog Blues Band will be warming up the crowd in Calamine, Wisconsin in preparation for an amazing, world-class fireworks display. (Tom thanks Garrett Wartenweiler of The Family Business for filling in!)

On Sunday the 10th Tom joins Frankie Lee and Mel Ford for a stripped down trio version of the The Maintainers on the deck at Rockdale Bar & Grill.

Gary and Tom and the rest of the Birddog Blues Band play Tofflers on Saturday the 23rd, the night before Big Wes Turner's Trio takes the stage at Tofflers spacious patio.

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.

Date Up!

Or update! Take your pick. It’s semantics.

Take note. Big Wes Turner’s Trio plays The EssenHaus on the odd Thursdays of the month (somehow appropriate). Next Thursday (June 2), Big Wes guitarist extraordinaire Gary Hendrickson takes one last night off (his post-op knee needs it). Luckily, the amazing Billy Flynn is free to fill in. If you’re a dancer, come and enjoy the dance floor and that crazy Rick Becker beat. If you’re a guitar aficionado, check out Billy’s bottomless bag of licks.

Two days later (June 4), the Trio (with Gary Hendrickson, his limp, and his driver) will party on the patio at Tyranena Brewery in Lake Mills. You can come for the band and stay for the beer, or vice versa. Either way, you can’t miss.

And about that updated calendar? Why do we bother to let you know that Big Wes Turner’s Trio is playing a private party at an undisclosed location in Madison, Wisconsin (on Wednesday, June 15), when you’re not invited? Isn’t that just unusual cruelty?

Maybe. But now you know that Big Wes Turner's Trio DOES PLAY private parties! Big or small, if you've got a party, give us a call.

Murphy's Law Applied

Shite! Sometimes it just can’t help hitting the fan.

Guitarist extraordinaire Gary Hendrickson is scheduled for a procedure on an ailing knee this month, which is why star of the Chicago Blues scene Billy Flynn is filling in for him at The Essen Haus on May 19. But while Gary’s knee waited patiently for medical attention, his shoulder got out of line. Doctor’s orders immediately had Gary’s arm in a sling. What can we do? Not a thing.

There’s a small handful of players who can jump into the Big Wes repertoire, and none were free to answer the call on such short notice. Ah well. As a result, The Essen Haus will most likely call on their stable of Polka stalwarts for authentic accompaniment to schnitzel slicing, kraut chomping, and boot imbibing. Big Wes would approve. German biers abound, and if you prefer, there’s a fine selection of Wisconsin brews steps away at The Come Back Inn.

Gary’s predicament threatened the Wednesday night FREE performance by The Maintainers at the OlinPark Pavilion but, luckily, Mel Ford, the main Maintainer guitar man, was able to juggle his schedule and make it for the downbeat at 6 pm. Attendance by all is recommended.