We had a great show at Cajun's Wharf on Friday night, I have to admit I was a little tired on Saturday. On Sunday we took Paige to Alltel Arena for Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes. We'd been to a couple others in the past, but this one was pretty elaborate. Paige and her friend April Qualls (right) really seemed to enjoy it and everyone appeared to have a great time.
After two trips to Little Rock in as many days, I'm ready to hang at the homefront for a while.
Doghouse will appear at Cajun's Wharf on Friday April 20 for the umpteenth time. No how matter how many times we've played there, it has to be one of our most favorite places to play. The food is outstanding, the staff is extremely friendly and courteous, and the environment is strictly PARTY and lots of fun. Playing on Friday night works well for us since it allows us somewhat of a weekend, and it serves for a fun one-night getaway for all of our Batesville folks.
It's hard to believe that we've actually been together for 6 years now with no personnel changes. From our very first "coming out" gig at the Bubba Hut, I would have never dreamed we would last this long. I think we can attribute our longevity to the fact that none of us feel that we HAVE to do this - there's no pressure, and when that's eliminated, it makes it that much more enjoyable.
So, that being said, I look back at some of the gigs we've had and remember some of the most memorable Doghouse moments.
First gig at Bubba Hut - most people came out to heckle us, they thought we'd be a joke. It only took a few songs for them to realize we were actually very good, especially for our first show. I remember when Erv ripped into a long guitar lead and seeing people stand there with their jaws on the floor. Most of the people who were there still come to every show.
Opening for Warrant/April Wine - I always liked Warrant, but I was a huge fan of April Wine when I was growing up. The first time I heard "Roller" on Rock 103 in Memphis, I stayed up almost all night with my little Panasonic cassette recorder waiting to record it. On the day of the show, I was walking through Wal-Mart when I turned the corner and ran face-to-face into Erik Turner, lead guitarist of Warrant. He side stepped me and I just said, "yo, Erik Turner!" He looked at me in amazement that I knew who he was, and the next thing I knew 3 of the other members were gathered around. They were looking to pick up a few things and didn't know where anything was, so I helped them find their way around. The show was amazing, April Wine was phenomenal, I got to meet drummer Jerry Mercer who played one of the most incredible drum solos I've ever heard. Before the show he was sitting on the bank of the White River reading "The Da Vinci Code" and we talked about fishing and he asked what all kinds of fish live in the river. He said he would like to come down and go trout fishing sometime.
Encounter with Creed - the morning after one of our Cajun's shows, we were waiting for our valet at The Peabody and it took forever. We had equipment sitting everywhere and there four large luxury tour buses congesting traffic, and they wouldn't move. We were all getting pissed so Erv, Karen, & Crystal went into the lobby to find out what the holdup was. Right after they went in, this tall dude with spiky hair wearing a sweat suit walked in with a guitar case on his back. I thought, "that guy looks familiar", and about that time I looked up and Scott Phillips, drummer for Creed was walking right in front of me. I said, "hey, Scott Phillips?" and he turned around and said, "hey dude!" I shook his hand and said it was great to meet him, and he looked downa and saw all my drumming equipment. He said, "did you guys have a gig?" and I told him we played at Cajun's the night before and it was a blast. He asked if I was coming to the show but I told him we had to head back to town, but I told him to have a great show and he walked inside. I ran inside and tried to catch everyone else and they were talking to the valet. I said, "did you guys see who that was?" and they said they must have missed them.
Jackyl at Batesville Speedway - Great time, hot as a baker's belt buckle. We took the stage around 5pm, and the sun was staring us right in the face and it was about 95 degrees. It was cool meeting Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, super down-to-earth dude. He's one of the original members and also played with Izzy Stradlin's JuJu Hounds. He said he and Izzy (former lead guitarist of Guns 'n Roses) are really good friends and keep in close contact. He offered to call him up on his cell phone and let me talk to him, but I passed.
Eric Sardinas at the Bubba Hut - I think we had a bigger crowd at the Hut than down at Riverside Park. We put on a great show, then Eric came on and just blew the place away. When he walked into the place he had a full bottle of Jack Daniels, and when the show was over, we saw him drain the bottle.
Mark breaks out the wigs at Josie's - we were like midway through the last set when Mark disappeared to the side of the stage. When he came back I saw him throwing something to everyone in the band, when I noticed they were wigs. Everyone put one on and played a full song, it got a huge laugh from the crowd.
Beef 'n Biscuit - after we'd finished our show in Magnolia, we were all starving when we got back to the hotel and noticed there was a place called the Beef 'n Biscuit right in front of the hotel. It was kind of a greasy looking joint, but we decided to go anyway. The food was typical late night breakfast grub, but hit the spot, the coffee was great and I'll never forget how much fun we had. The people there must have thought we were crazy, but I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life. Great times!
Cajun's Feast 2004 - Rob told us that one of his doctor friends was paying for our meal before one the show. I went kind of conservative, didn't want to get carried away since somebody else was buying, but he kept checking on us all the time and told us that we shouldn't get skimpy and to order anything we wanted. The next thing we knew, the table was covered with appetizers, bottles of wine, beer, entrees, so much food it wasn't funny. It was one of the best meals I've ever had, bar none.
George's Majestic Lounge - Dickson Street in Fayetteville during the Bikes, Blues & BBQ. Outide the bar there were around 150,000 bikers, inside there was a packed house. We would play a set in the beer garden and the place would be packed to capacity. When we took a break, everyone would move up to the front bar where TJ Scarlett was rocking the house. Once we started again everyone would go back to listen to us. Crystal informed me that at one time, Arlen and Cory Ness was standing to the side of the stage jamming to us. There was one group of young ladies in front of the stage, who, shall we say, put on quite a show themselves.
I'm sure there are plenty more, I'll post them later when I think of them.
