It ain't the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, but as far as holiday traditions go, I've had a good thing going for eight of the last ten years. I’ve managed -- with my wife's blessing, of course -- to kick off the long Thanksgiving weekend by playing an after-work gig in a Chicago tavern, and I've been lucky enough to have a lot of my musically-inclined friends sign on for the event.
One of the highlights, of course, has been the willingness of the St. Louis Horns, my music-making compadres from Missouri, to make the 300-mile trip to town for the near-annual November bash. This year, however, scheduling issues and a global economic meltdown have conspired against such a large-scale musical onslaught. So I've implemented Plan B -- which means adapting and getting back to the basics.
This year, be sure to jump-start your holiday weekend on Wednesday, November 26, by joining me and my guitar-pickin’ buddy Stevie Doyle (pictured above) as we knock out hours of jukebox favorites at McKellin’s Pub, 2800 W. Touhy (at the corner of California and Touhy), in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood. We’ll cover a lot of musical ground (e.g., Hank, Haggard, Prine, Kristofferson, Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee, Buddy, and Carl) and we may even have some special guests.
Mr. Doyle -- an honorary Blue State Cowboy, whenever I can get him on a gig -- has been working his Telecaster magic for over twenty years with numerous Chicago bands, and some of you have probably learned a few things from him through his classes and private lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Over the years he’s shared stages with folks like Pinetop Perkins, David Bromberg, Dale Watson, John Primer, and Smokey Smothers.
McKellin’s is a great neighborhood tavern, and there’s plenty of parking. It’s an early start time. We’ll play from 6:30 p.m. until about 9:30 p.m., and there is no cover charge. Hope to see you down the line.
3 comments:
One of the vastly under-reported stories of the recession/economic crisis/credit crunch is this simple fact: the horn section is usually the first to go in a downturn. Or maybe we're being puncished by the cosmos (though not Mr. Farmer to be sure) for hailing from a state that only nearly (and not finally) went blue.
Watched/listened to your "Crawl Back to Crawford" video on You Tube. Loved it! Seriously it's great. It had me laughing (which is one of my favorite passtimes) and it's quite catchy and makes one want to dance or tap along. Thanks for the kind words for my blog it keeps me sane. I was just given a Flip Mino Video and am having a lot of fun making little movies. I loved the photos you used too, they harmonized well with the music. Originally I started out in Advertising Art and Design, moved on from that but still always remain a creative person. Keep up the great work!
Happy Holidays. Laura
Your "Crawl Back to Crawford" is a musical gem! I've featured it today on my blog, What Happened To My Country.
http://whathappenedtomycountry.blogspot.com/
I readily admit to suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome and your ditty will help me make it through the next 41 days!
Thanks, Matt and the Cowboys.... love it!
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