Country Concert

I was up all night wondering where the sun had gone. And then it dawned on me!

Well, now its Saturday, and the weather dude says its gonna hit 101º in the shade. That's danged hot for June, right? One good thing is that it stays cooler out in the country, away from all the pavement and machinery. And when the sun goes down, it should drop to 80º pretty quickly. I hope.

I'm heading to the country to play at the Rusty Grape tonight (Saturday the 4th) from 7:00—9:00 P.M. Consider coming out for the good company, food and music as an alternative to bing watching Game of Thrones with an iced tea and microwave popcorn.

Jagger-Trump Screaming Concert

I read in the news that Trump has been playing the Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want" at rallies. So yesterday, the Stones asked him to stop using their songs. Trump replied "Hey—I pay for the rights, so I'm not gonna stop. And you can't make me. Nyah! Nyah!" Wow! I think some big-time promoter should see dollar signs. How about a Trump vs. Jagger "Shouting Match Smack-Down". Winner-take-all, plus some extra delegates. What would you pay for a ticket? I personally would pay up to $12 for Orchestra seats, if they had decent hot dogs. Or maybe $7 General Admission. It will take awhile to get this organized, plus I bet it will cost more than $12.  So, in the meantime, I'll be playing this Saturday night (May 7th) from 7—9 PM at the Rusty Grape. For free! And I'll even play some Rolling Stones songs and not pay any rights for them, and neither Trump or Jagger can stop me. Ha ha ha!!

Amy Winehouse Chicken Wrap

I just read that a woman in Liverpool, England swears that she spotted the image of Amy Winehouse in a KFC chicken wrap. That sort of bothered me a little bit.

Not so much the part about Amy Winehouse, but the fact that someone would tell everyone that they ate at KFC. Plus, I know people that take pictures of their restaurant food, but this woman took a picture of her freakin' chicken wrap! 

I've included it here, so you can see if you think you see Amy Winehouse. Oh—the article also says that the woman went ahead and ate all of her chicken wrap. After studying the picture, that's the part that bothers me the most.

It doesn't really matter whether you like Amy Winehouse or not, or KFC either. I just wanted to share the news with you. That, and the fact that I'll be playing this Saturday night (April 23rd) from 7—9 PM at the Rusty Grape.

Battle Ground Naming

What’s up with Battle Ground’s name? You would think some heavy action went down there, right? Maybe a big Civil War battle or something. But Wikipedia says that “the city is ironically named for the absence of a battle.” The story is convoluted, but basically the local, friendly Klickitat Tribe was being pushed around by an army from Fort Vancouver. The Klickitat’s were peaceful and surrendered. Anyway, there was nothing even close to a battle, so the name is sort of stupid. When people visit and ask "how did Battle Ground get its name?" I usually make up a big story because the truth is such a let down. I was thinking we should change the name to reflect what actually happened. Like maybe Bullyville. Or Bigotberg. Perhaps White Ground? If you think of something good, let me know and I’ll submit your idea to the Mayor. Regardless of the town name, Battle Ground has some good things going for it, if you squint. One good thing is that I'm playing music this Saturday night (April 9th) from 7—9 PM at the Rusty Grape. Come on in and we'll trade some war stories.

Easter Traditions

Some of our Easter traditions are a bit on the weird side. Like a giant rabbit with a basket that hides colored eggs and candy for the children. But we’re not the only ones with weird goings-ons In Poland and the Ukraine, they celebrate an Easter tradition called Śmigus-Dyngus (Wet Monday). Folks sneak around and throw buckets of water on each other. They used to also whip each other with pussy-willow branches, but I think even they started thinking that was too twisted, so now they usually just throw water. In the French town of Saint-Aygulf the whole town shows up to make a giant Easter omelette. They use nearly 14,000 eggs and the finished product feeds the whole town. I see in the photos they just make a plain omelette. So if you get hungry and decide to go, you might want to bring some mushrooms and onions or something to add to yours. However you do Easter, I hope we agree that getting together with friends, food, drink and music is a fun way to celebrate anything. So that’s what I’m doing this Saturday night (March 26) from 7—9 PM at the Rusty Grape. I hope I see you there. Hippity-Hop.

Spring Forward

Lots of stuff happening, so lets get together, eat, drink, and be merry! Its my birthday week, for one. And on Sunday we "Spring Forward," so Spring is here, right? And St. Patricks day is arriving. So are the Ides of March—et tu, Brute? Plenty to celebrate. That's why Mr. Monkey is bangin' on his Baldwin.

Join the multifaceted party this Saturday night (March 12) from 7—9 PM at the Rusty Grape.