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April 2019

Our Happy Landing!

Back in the 80’s there was a landmark television series based on the premiss, somewhere in just about every small town and hamlet America, there is a local pub, bar or watering hole, where “Everyone knows your name.”

In Harrison Township, just down the road and around the bend, there is just such a place; Bumper’s Landing.

Bumper’s is warm, friendly and always exciting.  It has great service, mouth watering food and drinks designed to help you cope with anything this cruel world can dish out.

Add live music, special events and its proximity to the lake, and you have all the makings of a legendary tavern that over time will become everyone’s favorite summer club-house.

Some things you notice every once in a long while.  Some things catch your eye occasionally and some things jump out and nearly hit you over the head.  Each and every time Carl and I entertain at Bumper’s Landing, we are struck with just how nice everyone is.  Just how happy and content they seem.

From the very moment we arrive until we are heading out some six hours later, the people at Bumper’s are always so wonderful to us.  One venue that always becomes worth writing home about.

Being right on the water, these boaters congregate there for any reason at all.  As I have noted, they are by and large happy people, and for whatever reason seem happiest near the water.  They love it, and we love them for it.  Fun, energetic and amiable twenty-four-seven, we have kind of been adopted by them.

Embarking on our fourth summer at Bumper’s we couldn’t be more excited to build on the wonderful work that the owner and staff have embarked upon.

I believe that Carl and feel a real kinship with the Bumper’s staff because in all truthfulness, they work as hard as we do.  We see it each and every time we are there.

Being part of an incredible hard-working team only makes us want to do more as well.  We try and help out in every way that we can think of.

We are always doing our utmost to please the patrons with song and fellowship.  We try and move in quickly and expeditiously, and move out without being in anyone’s way.

We start on time, commiserate with the customers and find out how we can please them for their next visit.  We take and post pictures to showcase the venue and always promote it online when possible.  We do our utmost to communicate just how lucky we are to have the opportunity to entertain there.

We try and work as hard or harder than we possibly are expected to.  We feel if we do all of these things, good things will follow for everyone involved.  In this way, when we are finished with our playing days, we can be very proud of our entertainment legacy.

We are closing in on fifty years of performing.  (sixty, if you factor in our concerts in the school bands and orchestras.)  And in all of that time, we have never missed a gig, been let go, or failed a client or customer.

That. to me, is pretty remarkable, in and of itself.

Last Saturday nights a matter of fact, we arrived to smiling faces, and entertained them nearly a half hour past our ending time.  We did thirty minutes of encores!

Those are some happy people at Bumper’s Landing.  Our kind of people.  They never whine, they never complain and they know exactly how to “go with the flow.”

That might be a big reason while we appreciate them so much.  It’s a great relationship.

On this particular night, it was just a great big, fun, enjoyable experience, from start to finish.  Smiling faces, happy patrons, dancing feet.  It is just the kind of night that we all enjoy.

To be honest, the time flew by, as it usually does when things are going right.  Everyone playing their part.

Happy patrons laughing, smiling, dancing and even playing the Tamborine!

On most nights when Carl and I are heading home, we take a few moments to reflect on the evening’s events.  When we are heading home from Bumper’s Landing, the ride is usually quite gratifying, knowing that we gave it all yet again.

Rb

Mouse-Kateers

It’s been more than five years that we have entertained at The Three Blind Mice Irish Pub in downtown Mount Clemens, Michigan.

We are veterans of many, many incredible nights in front of the oak barrels.  You might say that we are Mouse-Keteers of sorts.

Yup, the only thing that we do differently from most Disney theme-park attractions is drink on the job!  (Well, maybe not the only thing.)

Like Disney, we are there to entertain and help foster a sense of enjoyment and happiness. Most nights we manage it, for the most part.

The Mice is a very comfortable place to play.  The imported, aged decor, soft lighting and solid wood seating ties everything together to help the legacy endure for probably another hundred years.

Something about how the acoustics blend with the contented patrons really enhances the entire experience.  Organic music that just seems to grow, enrich and evolve here.

The intimacy of the seating, arranged in a “round” forever makes the Thee Blind Mice a wonderful environment to entertain in.  Having people nearly on top of you, forces an interaction that most times establishes a bond that has in some cases, grown for years.

We have met many wonderful people in just such a way, remaining connected to this day, through a mutual love of music.

Each night as our music reverberates throughout these walls, we are struck by the way the pub brings together each element at hand to create an magical musical experience.

When we add our talent, it is the last ingredient needed to blend everything together to make musical memories that we know will last forever.

We have lived, breathed and sweated within these welcoming walls for more than five years now, and hope to do so for many more to come.

We love the Three Blind Mice, and hope that it is heard in our music, each and every performance.

Rb

The Usual Crazy Night

On a night when absolutely everything could have gone wrong, nothing did.  Someone must be watching over us, because it was great right from the beginning.

Sometimes it just works out that way.  (Not very often), but sometimes.

Sure, we always have fun, but a lot of the time, its somehow crazy for one reason or another.  When you put that many wild people together in one place, usually something has to give.

Bumper’s Landing

Always fun, always enjoyable, but many times unexpected and or unusual.  Just the nature of the beast, I imagine.  That being said, Saturday was crazy-fun.

Of course since Michigan State was in the final four, it had been busy all day long, from the very moment their doors opened up.

We were to be starting an hour earlier, so of course, we arrived an hour earlier.  Just a little bit of chaos, as we walked in to survey the place.

Since the big basketball game began at 9:00, our plan was to entertain for two hours before the game, then at half time, and again after until midnight.

Somehow we got the first parking spot, (which or course made unloading easier).  Setup was quick and simple, and we had  more than a half an hour before we needed to begin in earnest.  Plenty of time to greet the Bumper’s regulars.

It was a full house of course, with everyone as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.  Electricity was in the air as we played our first set.  “Uptempo and highly motivated” was how I would describe our music to start.  It only got more exciting from there.

Our goal was to get the crowd amped up and ready to rumble!

Since everyone was in such a great mood, taking them to that next level was pretty quick and easy.  Our opening set was high energy and went for more than an hour.  The reception was welcomed as we took our break and connected with our audience.

Things were accelerating nicely as we began our second set.  With our “pedal to the metal” we launched full force into our rock music bag of tricks.  Pulling out favorite rock classic after favorite.  It sure seemed to work since the energy level was nearly through the roof as the transition to basketball took center stage.

While the men battled it out on the hardwood, Carl and I took time to check out our friends and staff during the contest.  The entire venue was alive with passion; as wild and as animated as it ever has been.  On a night when music takes a backseat to sports, we were truly excited to see such a wonderful turnout.

Everyone works so hard at Bumper’s, it is very gratifying to see when all of that work pays off.  Success does not happen by accident or luck; it is usually nothing more than putting in the work.

Soon it was half-time and that meant time to play for us..  Taking our cue from the ticking game-clock, we counted down to half time and our second set.

Not missing a beat, Carl and I launched into party mode extraordinaire.  Time to blow off the roof!

The second set flew by, and before we could even take a breath, it was time again for us to pause and let the game finish.  We checked back in with our Bumper’s regulars to get their take on the evening.

Seems as though we were on the right track, playing everyone’s favorites so far.  Since the home team was losing, we might have needed to play a more somber finish to the night.

Indeed, State failed to prevail in the end; however, the crowd didn’t seem to mind.  After all, the season was viewed as a success as the college boys got that far at least.

Time to finish out the night, and that is just what we did.  We pretty much played the night out without stopping.  Song after song was offered and excepted by the grateful throng.  Each one as appreciated as the last.

It was another signature night at Bumper’s.

Something different, as usual, (If that makes any sense.).  Well, Carl and I understand.

Rb

 

Friday In Waiting

Some nights as a rockstar, everything is a little off.

You know what I mean.  For whatever reason, things just don’t click the way that they should.

It happens to some nights, unfortunately.  When Carl and I are a little off, no one really notices.  We do, but no one else seems too.  It’s frustrating, but all part of the experience.

Nothing you can do about it really.  Like a run-away train that is rolling out of control, you basically just hang on and try and limit the damage.

Well, that might be an overly dramatic interpretation of the evenings’ events, but you get the idea.

What I’m trying to say is that when we get the opportunity to entertain people, we really are never happy with any outcome other than excellence.  When we are in the midst of one of those performances, we are distracted just by the fact and work even harder to correct it.

Sometimes we right the plane.  Sometimes, there is a long slow uncomfortable flight; but always, we reach our destination alive.

Most of the time, what we do hinges on the people that we have the opportunity to entertain.  Carl and I might be hitting on all cylinders, but if there is no one to hear, then it all goes for naught.

Some nights there are just other things going on, or the weather takes its’ tole on the crowd.  Sometimes, it is a bad calendar night, when there is a holiday or huge event the night before or the next.  When that happens, as frustrating as it can be, we  just have to push through and do all that we can to have fun, or appear like we are.

That might be one of the hardest things that we ever have to do.  Put on a happy face, when the crowd is small.  Most of the time however, the people get us through.   It’s not always the numbers that make the night, but the quality.

Just the right person or persons will go a long way in making the evening memorable.

Though I keep trying to illustrate all the fun and excitement of being a rock star, I ultimately fail.      Honestly, it’s a great way to get paid while spending a lifetime doing something we both enjoy.

For me, it is a way to be creative.  That is my favorite part of the entire experience.

It is a way to communicate with people our love of music: being able to share our interpretation of other artists’ intimate thoughts and feelings, through song.

Having taken time here to explain in painful detail just how frustrating it is to us when things are not in sync, I feel compelled to note: No-one cares.

No-one ever notices when we are not “on”.  People don’t see it, know it or especially care about it.

To be honest, it really isn’t a big deal.  Carl and I know it, and we really don’t dwell on it either.  We realize that it will pass.

By and large, throughout our musical career, there have not been many nights all at when things don’t do the way we expect them to.

If for some reason it’s slow or tough or the plane is faltering . . .

Do not fear.  We’ll just put it on auto-pilot and land after the in-flight drinks have been consumed.

Rb

BOB AND CARL