June 5 – Emorys Lakehouse; S. Everett
June 25 – Seattle Aquarium
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON – KEEP AN EYE ON OUR WEBSITE AND BLOG….
PACK ATTACK! – MAY GIG RECAP
May 15th the Pack returned to our band birthplace, Vino Bella for a night of musical debauchery. Vino is one of our favorite places to play because it’s always a little wild and the fun factor is hot as the temperatures this last week. And when we play there the joint is always… well, “Packed…” (I know!)
Let’s start with the band: Stevie “Long Grain” Rice, Garey Williams, Chris Clark and Travis Ranney. Not a good band… a GREAT band and these cats had chemistry with a capital C. LaVanda Turner (remember her from last month’s gig at Chasers in Mukilteo) was in the house and we brought her up to lend her voice on a number. Lena Bundy was also there and we were treated to a number by one of the premier vocalists in the region – thanks Lena!
Then it was off to Lake Chelan on the 23rd for a Champagne Uncorking event at Good Karma Wines. Stevie “The Grain”, Chuck Kistler, Devan Stovall, Travis Ranney, Kevin Seeley and Nathan Vetter (probably the 
hottest working band assembly in the entire region.) It was hot – about 80 or so and the glue on a string bass will melt in direct sunlight like that, so we brought an umbrella onstage to protect his bass – and The Grain – from melting. The lilac arbor provided shade and ambience for the rest of the cats. We had some pretty nice hotel rooms overlooking the pool. This was Memorial Day Weekend and as you may assume, there were a LOT of young, nearly-clad sprites running all over town. We headed for Senior Frogs for a few pops then to Campbells for some ribs. Oddly, we were all back to our rooms by midnight. We had a gig in Mirrormont of Issaquah at the Irwin residence…
“Quaff the Quah” is now an annual event at the Irwins and Ted and Lori go all out. Ted built a covered performance stage for us and from what I can tell, they even had professionals helping in the kitchen. The spread of food was nothing short of amazing – especially the pulled pork and Ted has been a craft brewer since the early 90’s. To say hi beer rivals anything to come out of Sam Adams is appropriate. Everything was delicious – especially the band. Mike West joined us at the sax position (Travis had a conflict) and it was a nice treat. We did a bunch of Motown tunes for the party and Jeremy Larcom,a friend of the Irwins, did a couple songs with the cats too. Thank you Ted and Lori, another great party. We look forward to next year!
On the 29th, we were off to Sprit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, Oregon for a client appreciation party thrown by the Portland Trailblazers for their premium ticket holders – suites and courtside. Joe Cocker played the stage on the previous night, so we thought it fitting to do my rendition of “Unchain My Heart” because, you know… why wouldn’t I? We travelled with “The Grain” but hired all of our players from Portland. We thought it would be appropriate to hire players from the city with the team that we were performing for. Ed Bennet on bass, Marty Higgins on drums, Pete Peterson on sax, Paul Mazzio on trumpet, John Moak on bone. These cats are no substitues – they are the hottest position players in Oregon and note-for-note rival the cats we play with in Seattle. GREAT performance – hats off guys!
The Blazer Girls were on hand and so were a few of the player alumni – noteably, Jerome “Mercy” Kersey – one of the longest playing careers in NBA history, 17 years. I had the chance to chat with him a few minutes and he’s a really nice guy. This was also the only gig we’ve ever played where our band meal was filet mignon and lobster. Not even kidding.
Then we were off to dance at the Raindrop Lounge and have cocktails with those little ice cubes that light up your drink. Swanky… I hit the casino floor for a little black jack and I left with more than I sat down with. Felt pretty good about that, it’s been a while since I’ve played…
A LOOK AHEAD
JUNE 5 – EMORYS LAKEHOUSE
June starts out at Emorys Lakehouse on S. Everett’s Silver Lake shores. It’s a beautiful place with great food, a sushi bar and a smokin’ hot deck overlooking the lake. We’ll swing it out at about 9pm. The Grain, Jazzy Chas and Devan will provide the notes.
JUNE 25 – SEATTLE AQUARIUM
David LeClaire is hosting a Wine Lover’s event at The Seattle Aquarium at 6pm. I suggest you click his link and get yourself tickets… Rachael Contorer, Tom Maeda and Devan Stovall as The Medicated Trio…
Take a look at our CALENDAR. We have a bunch of new dates and in the next several weeks we should be booking a lot more. Corporate events, weddings, festivals, concerts in the parks… Too much fun.
The Kings of Swing (yours truly) really look forward to seeing you all in June and July. Check out our gigs we have on the books so far in our online CALENDAR
COMING UP…
We have a major announcement coming soon, keep an eye on our website and by all means make us your FaceBook friend and join our FB FAN CLUB!
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