May 25, Sidebar Tavern Wrap-up

(pix by Holly, thanks!)

May 25
Davey G and the Keyboard at the Sidebar
with
Eric Crapton, Temp Sound Solutions, Broken Consort, and the Entertainment System


Wow, this show just about had it all.
Sidebar Ken announced that Eric Crapton couldn’t make it, as he died in rehab just that morning. But the good news was that his brother Derek Crapton was available, so this bearded hillbilly took the stage and sang Karaoke to the “Batman” theme. Then…Eric Crapton showed up (he’s alive!), stabbed his brother with a knife, then assumed the stage. He played for about 10 minutes, with a banjo, doing a song about Superman and all the other superheroes, getting angry when people laughed at his jokes and then getting angry when people didn’t laugh at his jokes. The show ended abruptly when Eric had to run for his life from the cops. I really hope he’s all right.
Temp Sound Solutions was a one man guitar/metal player, playing against a sequencer, very rock-tastic. Broken Consort is three guys using samplers and guitars to form an experimental sound. Entertainment System, who played after me, were tight, video game music and a lot of lights. Cool…

I felt really good at this one, I feel like the Sidebar is becoming a good second home. Turnout for this show was great. I did 16 songs of my evolving set, as I try to work my way out of leaning so much on the songs from the second album. I did Handshake, Bad Posture, Childhood Pain, You Triumph when You Quit, and Office Supply Store, all from the upcoming CD, plus Kill You and Drinking Beer at Grandma’s House, old classics. It was dark, I had my sunglasses on, and I had to take them off and put my near-sided self right next to the keyboard to make the necessary pre-set and sound changes. There was a big sing-along during Wash the Dish, which was awesome.

I threw in an inside joke for all the fans who had seen my act before (about half the crowd): when I got to the Lotion bit, instead of erupting into seizures of lotion spewing all over the place, I very calmly took out the lotion bottle, rubbed some on my hands, and then put it away and resumed playing. People were screaming at me to take my shirt off!
During the second chorus, I used my “stage lotion,” which I unfortunately didn’t refill before the show. It was mostly water, and did not have the desired effect. But it wasn’t as gross, either.

Here’s hoping for more Sidebar shows sometime soon!

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Tomorrow night!

I’m very excited to be doing this show at the Sidebar, a big Friday night. I got a listing in the Short List (always nice) and I just feel that the stars may be aligned for a good carnival-style show. After all, there’s a nice thematic connection with a band that does video game music and a guy who sings a song called Atari Generation. I’m also looking to return to a few “classic” Davey G tunes, ones that have lain dormant since 2002, when I put down my keyboard until the triumphant return in ‘05. Those, plus a nice healthy smattering of new songs from the upcoming CD.
Come out come out come out! I may have a surprise for the unsuspecting fan. And if you’re running late, it looks like I’m going on next to last…so there’s time.


Tomorrow Night! Friday, May 25
Doors at 9.
The Sidebar Tavern
218 E. Lexington Street - Baltimore, MD 21202

Davey G and the Keyboard
With
The Entertainment System
Broken Consort
And
Eric Crapton




www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Friday at the Sidebar...me!

(photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/joewilk/)

Friday, 7 bucks (9 if under 21)
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Stuff I'm Reading: Resolute by Martin Sandler

Resolute: the epic search for the Northwest Passage and John Franklin, and the Discovery of the Queen’s Ghost Ship by Martin W. Sandler

One of the main appeals to me for reading non-fiction is that the title tells you everything. I am in fact a fairly non-discriminate reader of whatever, but I feel like if I’m going to spend time with a book that I will inevitably forget to return to library before paying those annoying 20 cents a day fees (I wrote a song about this that probably won’t make it to the album) then I like to at least learn something.
Arctic exploration fascinates me--the idea of being out in the absolute middle of nowhere and trying to do some good for the sake of humanity is so absolutely alien to me that I feel like I must study it. Actually, I have no idea what good was done by anything that happened in this book--it was about John Franklin, a renowned English explorer who was sent to finally discover the famed northwest passage. He failed, of course, and then lots of others followed to find out what happened to him (lots of dying and cannibalism). Tales of people getting scurvy, going mad, hallucinating. I just wrote a song for the new album called “You Triumph When You Quit” that is about the exact opposite of this: Doesn’t it just feel so good to be in a warm bed, cracking open a cold beer and eating a hot burrito? (that is the single stupidest sentence I have ever constructed) I say, screw all that going to the artic crap. It’s so much easier than trying to stretch the capabilities of humanity or something and losing all your toes. That makes you walk all funny.
This was a really good book. I hope my “review” helps you, and maybe all of humanity.


WTF?
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Davey G and the Next Great Friday Night at the Sidebar!

Hey everyone! Check out my next show at the Sidebar!

Friday, May 25
Doors at 9.
The Sidebar Tavern
218 E. Lexington Street - Baltimore, MD 21202

Davey G and the Keyboard
With
The Entertainment System
Broken Consort
And
Eric Crapton


This show was pitched to me as “a great Friday night” and from what I’ve heard from the Entertainment System, I believe this will live up to that billing. This band does video game music, which to me gives them a really awesome Iron Maiden sound, and of course there is me, Davey G and the Keyboard, with hopefully some surprises for old fans and new. Plus, when I first heard the name “Eric Crapton,” I giggled out loud, but maybe that’s just me.



See you there!

Davey G and the Keyboard

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Weird Al At Rams Head! (Sorry I'm Late With This!)

Certain obligations kept me from blogging this week, or else I’d have done an extensive analysis, critique, or review of Tuesday night’s Weird Al show at the Ram’s Head in Baltimore. So instead of a review as such, I just want to share my thoughts that I’ve been having about it, in no particular order.

* great set! Mostly a heavy dose of Straight Outta Lynwood and Poodle Hat, with medleys of parodies, complete with appropriate costume changes. Al and his band (he’s been playing with the same guys all throughout his recording career, so I have to assume he’s not mean or hard to deal with or anything) played for over 2 hours, with songs interspersed with videos an fake interviews with celebrities. The show seemed to go by so fast, it was hard to believe it was a whole 2 hours.

* Al messed up lyrics on at least 1 or 2 songs; he and his band covered like true pros--this is absolutely something I have worked on in my last year or 2 of playing. It’s so refreshing to see that someone as professional and enduring as Weird Al can still mess up and get away with it because he in fact is so professional that he knows how to compensate (as do the great guys in his band!) with only the hard core fans noticing.

*I am totally ripping off at least one or 2 of his tricks. I won’t say which ones.

*I am totally going to work on my entrances…something about running on stage to music is so much better than saying “okay, I’m ready” and then just starting.

*He ended with Albuquerque, a rambling funny song that closes the Running With Scissors album. I found it to be an interesting choice: a non-parody song with no costumes and Al obviously really enjoying himself (he doesn’t seem to ever step out of character on-stage, if you’re willing to accept Weird Al as a “character”, though I doubt he goes home and becomes like Serious Al or anything). I’ve read a few words from him on his blog and site and I get the impression that while he enjoys the success the parodies have brought him, he kind of wishes that the originals would get more attention. To that end, this show featured a lot of his originals, the stylistic parodies (I’ll Sue ya!, for example). Albuquerque is not one of his better known songs, which makes me think of my song, Milwaukee: not my funniest, but my personal favorite, a song I play for the sheer joy of playing it.

I’m not saying I want to be Weird Al when I (a-hem) grow up. But he is the standard and the inspiration for anyone who has a funny dream of writing funny songs and just running with it. A great show!



Watch for a show announcement next week!

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Davey G and Radio Airplay!

Hey Fans!

If you live in the Baltimore area, there is a radio show on 1620 a.m. on Monday nights from 9 to 11 called Shut Up! I’m on the Radio that has a copy of my CD and will play a song if you request it!

Songs they have:

Bed (they played this on the radio!)
Sandwich
Drinking beer at grandma’s house
Wash the dish
Milwaukee
My friends laughed at me and my family
Life is so depressing
Man-friend
Breaking the Law

Shut Up! I’m on the Radio!

***********************
If you live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Rebel Sound Radio on 89.7 f.m. is on Thursdays, from 4 to 6 p.m. They’ve got the new Davey G and the Office Supply E.P!
(he seems to really like “Name in the Machine,” as well)
Rebel sound Radio (myspace)
If you don't live in either of these areas, visit www.pittsfieldtv.org (click on the ETV link) It's not streaming all the time, but it will be streaming from 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm Eastern Time on Thursdays and Fridays beginning this week, so you can hear the first hour of the show from 4 to 5 on Thursdays (today, even)!

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

Stuff I’m Reading: The Millionaire Next Door

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J Stanley, PhD, and William D. Danko, PhD.

The authors study the lives of millionaires to determine their habits--how they gain and maintain wealth--and reach surprising conclusions about “inconspicuous consumption.” Basically, there’s a difference between looking wealthy and actually being wealthy. Many seemingly upper middle class people are actually huge financial underachievers because of the money spent maintaining the image and the lifestyle, vs. millionaires who are still at heart cheapskates.

This is the kind of book that makes me feel a little bad about some of my past spending habits, and my choice (or lack of choice) of an occupation. I am a cheapskate, low-spender-hate-to-spend-money-on-anything-that-isn’t beer (see past blog posts for confirmation of this) so I am on board with half the plan, but as for the “choosing the right occupation” part of the formula…being Davey G is apparently not in the top ten.

I also, like millions of Americans, have debt, mostly the result of car repairs, 7 years of on and off wanderlust, and some bad habits. It’s a little embarrassing, incongruous with the way I feel now about credit and spending, but there it is. I feel like the former smoker who preaches against smoking but then sneaks one when no one is looking.

But if I learned anything from Rocky’s speech at the end of Rocky 4, it’s that you can change (how’s that for a reference?). Everyone can change.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089927/quotes
(scroll down, it’s there--it’s in the speech he gives after he improbably beats up Dolph Lundgren)


E.P for sale!!!
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com

I’ve got some new pictures!

These are also up on my myspace and virb (join! Friend Me!) pages, courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleysauers/,who took these at the Whole Gallery show. (thanks!)

Davey G and the Office Supply Store E.P. is on sale, 2 bucks at
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com