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This past Sunday, The FLB played what Chris Bell has dubbed "the most dangerous gig (he'd) ever played." Two bands (The FLB and The Luv Gods) rocking out hard on a Sunday evening atop floating barges on the Susquehanna river. And who would come up with such a treacherous and crazy idea? None other than the man who knows how to throw down, Mr. Matt Flinchbaugh--proprietor of Flinchy's restaurant and bar (with a little help from yours truly). Flinchapalooza...a summer party on the Susquehanna river in Harrisburg certainly not to be forgotten.
Our stage at Flinchapalooza literally consisted of two pontoon barges strung together in the Susquehanna river, with a third pontoon barge off to the side housing two power generators. It did move quite a bit with the water and made for a very interesting playing experience. The stage was right across from a pier on an island in the middle of the river, appropriately dubbed "Party Island." Many boats docked at the pier and lots of folks gathered for the event. The island was to the right of the stage and the Harrisburg skyline was to our left. I thought it was one of the coolest things I'd ever played on.
Once I arrived, we loaded all of our equipment onto Flinchy's boat and motored out to the stage to unload and set up. Chris and Ken (and maybe even Randy a little) were really freaked out at the situation. Chris apparently has a water phobia that I was unaware of, and he and Ken were not too happy about the chaos and danger involved in setting up and executing this operation.
Funny (or not so funny) enough, one of Ken's mics went into the drink early on as The Luv Gods were sound checking. Their drummer, a really friendly and humorous fellow named Swish (or Swisher), accidentally knocked Ken's mic boom and 57 into the river. Oops. The bottom half of my piano seat also seemed to get lost in the shuffle somewhere, either into the watery depths or somewhere else. Thankfully enough, those seemed to be the only two casualties of the evening.
After we set up and plugged everything in, I sat and ran sound for The Luv Gods, a very popular Harrisburg band whose members include my friend Shea Quinn and other Sharks Band members. The Luv Gods played first and had a great set. The crowd on the pier loved it and was very receptive, not to mention that the band members themselves were all very friendly and a lot of fun to be around.
The FLB played a set after a short change over, ending with a "Flinchy's Song" encore. Considering the playing circumstances and the fact that this was the first ever Flinchapalooza, I thought the event went very well. No tragedies and everyone seemed to have a great time. Ken and Chris even loosened up eventually. We had a few power issues with the generators and extension cords, but it wasn't anything major. I certainly enjoyed the hell out of playing for a bunch of half naked people on a floating river barge in Pennsylvania's Captiol City. There was some very beautiful "aquatic wildlife" out there...
Big thanks to Mitch for helping out with the equipment and for lifting items over 2,000 lbs. Also, thanks to The Luv Gods, The Flinchy's family and crew, and of course a special thanks to Matt Flinchbaugh himself for inviting us to play and setting up the event. I can't wait until next year (the plan is for us to play actually on "Party Island," on dry land). Flinchapalooza 2007, here we come...
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
The Johnstown Adventure
Recently, The FLB booked a weekend (Sat and Sun) of gigs in Johnstown, PA, which is Ken's hometown. We played at Tulune's South Side Saloon Saturday night and then at the Roxbury Bandshell Sunday evening. The Bandshell gig was part of a summer concert series aimed to help raise money to preserve the Roxbury Bandshell, a wonderful structure that the city apparently thinks would make an excellent parking lot.
About a week before the Johnstown roadtrip, we were lucky enough to acquire an official FLB tour van (thanks in full to the enormous time and generosity of the two folks that gave me life, Fred and Sheryl Long). The roadtrip was to be our maiden voyage.
SATURDAY
Now, I have very limited experience in driving large vans. Other than a few short trips driving the Key 103 event van, I have mostly driven the Blue Dragon since I was 15. Needless to say, the guys were a little nervous as I took the helm of our rock ship. The trip to Johnstown was pretty smooth, except for a close call with the South Side Saloon's awning. The big antenna was the only thing that hit, but I was told that I was damn lucky I didn't take the whole thing out. Hey, close only counts...
Once we set everything up for the show at Tulune's, we drove to where we were staying that night at Ken's best friend Chris' and his girlfriend Cheri's house. Chris and Cheri were the most wonderful, friendly hosts and really made us feel right at home. After a quick clean up and a change of clothes, we were off to the gig.
The South Side Saloon gig went extremely well. A lot of Ken's friends and family were there and the performance went well. Everyone was very receptive, friendly, and complimentary. A great start to the weekend.
BREAKDOWN AND PERSEVERANCE
Unfortunately, this is where things took a little bit of a turn. After the show was over and we loaded all our gear into the van, we set off for a late night eating spot that Ken had been raving about called Coney Island. Ken decided to drive since he knew exactly where the place was, and after a couple of miles noticed all the lights in/on the van going dim. Shortly after mentioning his observation, the van just quit right at a red light. We got out and pushed it to a curb, put it in park, and starting trying to figure out how to recover from our apparently lightning-quick demise. It was around this time that Ken felt the need to tell us that we hadn't broken down in the best neighborhood. If anything could test the dynamics of a band and its members, it's braking down at 3 AM in a bad neighborhood in a strange town...
The good news is that we passed the test, thanks to the help of our host Chris and some of Ken's other friends. At first things were a little tricky because Ken didn't have his cell phone with him and consequently we couldn't call anyone we knew was still up/around. Finally, I decided to call the Coney Island restaurant using 411 and ask for Chris, because we knew he had gone ahead of us and was probably already at the restaurant. We were in luck. I talked to Chris at the restaurant and he and a couple others soon came to our aid.
Narrowing the van's concussion down to either an alternator problem or a dead battery from using the lights during load-out, we first just tried to charge the battery using jumpers. That was unsuccessful, so we decided we had to leave the van and try to have it fixed tomorrow. Determined to make Coney Island before it closed at 4AM, Chris came and picked us up in his jeep. Five guys crammed in a jeep on a mission...
We made it to the joint with 20 min to spare, but still got some static from the owner for being "late." I ordered the famed "Sundowner," a hamburger with a fried egg on top, just to say I had tasted it. It wasn't bad at all, but God knows how long it's going to stay in my digestive system. Chris also had a mix up with a couple of his hot dogs (the lady made them, Chris paid for them, and then she apparently got confused and threw them out). It was a somewhat bizarre first experience at Coney Island...
We went back to Chris and Cheri's, stayed up and talked for a little while, and then chose our sleeping quarters: Chris on a couch downstairs, Ken in a guest room, and Randy and I in the attic. I usually don't sleep the greatest in places other than my own bed, but this was an exception. I slept great and Ken had to rustle Randy and I up the next morning.
SUNDAY
Cheri made us a wonderful breakfast of homemade scones (from scratch!) and we talked and mapped out our van game plan. Eventually Ken and I set out with Chris to try to charge the battery again and hopefully get the van to the bandshell where we were playing that evening. We were able to bring the van back to life and drive it to the bandshell. There we hooked the battery up to a charger and let it charge the rest of our time in Johnstown.
The Bandshell gig had good weather and began with an acoustic set by our overnight host and MC, Chris Verbano. We played for an hour after Chris. The sound situation was a little hard, considering we were playing in a stone bandshell and the sound guy used a limited set up. However, we still had some good performances and everyone seemed to appreciate it. The event as a whole had a very receptive attendance from the community.
Throughout the weekend, I often reflected on how great it was to be able to come to this strange town and share music and conversation with new people. It was very comforting to have such kind and accommodating hosts--people who let absolute strangers in their homes and treated them like they were royalty. It was also very inspiring to see the community come together to support live music and the bandshell. Maybe there's hope for this art after all.
OUR ADVENTURE HOME
After the bandshell performance, we decided we'd better leave ASAP in case we had van trouble on the way home. It's better to break down at 9:30PM than at 1:30AM. We weren't sure how long the charged battery would last, so we headed for a WALMART on the outskirts of town to buy a backup battery, a tool kit, and some flash lights, and to get some dinner. Either it was "Hot Night" at WALMART or there's something in the Johnstown water. I had never seen so many attractive women in a WALMART before--walking everywhere and it seemed at least one or two in every aisle, shopping, stocking shelves, moms getting groceries, everywhere. It was all very distracting.
After WALMART, we embarked for home, hoping for the best. Ken drove, since he knew the way better (and consequently, better places to pull over should the ship go down). We did well and made it to Clear Spring, MD when the lights started to get really dim. The battery had been draining slowly but surely since we left Johnstown. We got off at the Clear Spring exit and pulled into the gas station right as the van cut off. Man. We gassed up and switched out the batteries, and we were able to make it home from there. What a journey.
CONCLUSION
My dad (who is a genius when it comes to cars, and many other things for that matter) checked out the van the next day and sure enough, the alternator was weak and not charging right. He and mom had taken the van for a spin several times before our trip and everything seemed to be in working order. So, for whatever reason the alternator decided to bail during our trip. I'm convinced it was because we hadn't given the van a name. It's back luck to have a ship without a name.
Despite some technical adversities, the trip was a lot of fun and went very well. It was just great being able to hang out and travel together "as a band." Huge thanks to Chris and Cheri for their generous hospitality and all of Ken's family, friends, and community members for their support. We'll be back in December...
About a week before the Johnstown roadtrip, we were lucky enough to acquire an official FLB tour van (thanks in full to the enormous time and generosity of the two folks that gave me life, Fred and Sheryl Long). The roadtrip was to be our maiden voyage.
SATURDAY
Now, I have very limited experience in driving large vans. Other than a few short trips driving the Key 103 event van, I have mostly driven the Blue Dragon since I was 15. Needless to say, the guys were a little nervous as I took the helm of our rock ship. The trip to Johnstown was pretty smooth, except for a close call with the South Side Saloon's awning. The big antenna was the only thing that hit, but I was told that I was damn lucky I didn't take the whole thing out. Hey, close only counts...
Once we set everything up for the show at Tulune's, we drove to where we were staying that night at Ken's best friend Chris' and his girlfriend Cheri's house. Chris and Cheri were the most wonderful, friendly hosts and really made us feel right at home. After a quick clean up and a change of clothes, we were off to the gig.
The South Side Saloon gig went extremely well. A lot of Ken's friends and family were there and the performance went well. Everyone was very receptive, friendly, and complimentary. A great start to the weekend.
BREAKDOWN AND PERSEVERANCE
Unfortunately, this is where things took a little bit of a turn. After the show was over and we loaded all our gear into the van, we set off for a late night eating spot that Ken had been raving about called Coney Island. Ken decided to drive since he knew exactly where the place was, and after a couple of miles noticed all the lights in/on the van going dim. Shortly after mentioning his observation, the van just quit right at a red light. We got out and pushed it to a curb, put it in park, and starting trying to figure out how to recover from our apparently lightning-quick demise. It was around this time that Ken felt the need to tell us that we hadn't broken down in the best neighborhood. If anything could test the dynamics of a band and its members, it's braking down at 3 AM in a bad neighborhood in a strange town...
The good news is that we passed the test, thanks to the help of our host Chris and some of Ken's other friends. At first things were a little tricky because Ken didn't have his cell phone with him and consequently we couldn't call anyone we knew was still up/around. Finally, I decided to call the Coney Island restaurant using 411 and ask for Chris, because we knew he had gone ahead of us and was probably already at the restaurant. We were in luck. I talked to Chris at the restaurant and he and a couple others soon came to our aid.
Narrowing the van's concussion down to either an alternator problem or a dead battery from using the lights during load-out, we first just tried to charge the battery using jumpers. That was unsuccessful, so we decided we had to leave the van and try to have it fixed tomorrow. Determined to make Coney Island before it closed at 4AM, Chris came and picked us up in his jeep. Five guys crammed in a jeep on a mission...
We made it to the joint with 20 min to spare, but still got some static from the owner for being "late." I ordered the famed "Sundowner," a hamburger with a fried egg on top, just to say I had tasted it. It wasn't bad at all, but God knows how long it's going to stay in my digestive system. Chris also had a mix up with a couple of his hot dogs (the lady made them, Chris paid for them, and then she apparently got confused and threw them out). It was a somewhat bizarre first experience at Coney Island...
We went back to Chris and Cheri's, stayed up and talked for a little while, and then chose our sleeping quarters: Chris on a couch downstairs, Ken in a guest room, and Randy and I in the attic. I usually don't sleep the greatest in places other than my own bed, but this was an exception. I slept great and Ken had to rustle Randy and I up the next morning.
SUNDAY
Cheri made us a wonderful breakfast of homemade scones (from scratch!) and we talked and mapped out our van game plan. Eventually Ken and I set out with Chris to try to charge the battery again and hopefully get the van to the bandshell where we were playing that evening. We were able to bring the van back to life and drive it to the bandshell. There we hooked the battery up to a charger and let it charge the rest of our time in Johnstown.
The Bandshell gig had good weather and began with an acoustic set by our overnight host and MC, Chris Verbano. We played for an hour after Chris. The sound situation was a little hard, considering we were playing in a stone bandshell and the sound guy used a limited set up. However, we still had some good performances and everyone seemed to appreciate it. The event as a whole had a very receptive attendance from the community.
Throughout the weekend, I often reflected on how great it was to be able to come to this strange town and share music and conversation with new people. It was very comforting to have such kind and accommodating hosts--people who let absolute strangers in their homes and treated them like they were royalty. It was also very inspiring to see the community come together to support live music and the bandshell. Maybe there's hope for this art after all.
OUR ADVENTURE HOME
After the bandshell performance, we decided we'd better leave ASAP in case we had van trouble on the way home. It's better to break down at 9:30PM than at 1:30AM. We weren't sure how long the charged battery would last, so we headed for a WALMART on the outskirts of town to buy a backup battery, a tool kit, and some flash lights, and to get some dinner. Either it was "Hot Night" at WALMART or there's something in the Johnstown water. I had never seen so many attractive women in a WALMART before--walking everywhere and it seemed at least one or two in every aisle, shopping, stocking shelves, moms getting groceries, everywhere. It was all very distracting.
After WALMART, we embarked for home, hoping for the best. Ken drove, since he knew the way better (and consequently, better places to pull over should the ship go down). We did well and made it to Clear Spring, MD when the lights started to get really dim. The battery had been draining slowly but surely since we left Johnstown. We got off at the Clear Spring exit and pulled into the gas station right as the van cut off. Man. We gassed up and switched out the batteries, and we were able to make it home from there. What a journey.
CONCLUSION
My dad (who is a genius when it comes to cars, and many other things for that matter) checked out the van the next day and sure enough, the alternator was weak and not charging right. He and mom had taken the van for a spin several times before our trip and everything seemed to be in working order. So, for whatever reason the alternator decided to bail during our trip. I'm convinced it was because we hadn't given the van a name. It's back luck to have a ship without a name.
Despite some technical adversities, the trip was a lot of fun and went very well. It was just great being able to hang out and travel together "as a band." Huge thanks to Chris and Cheri for their generous hospitality and all of Ken's family, friends, and community members for their support. We'll be back in December...
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