The Rocky Horror Show is barreling full speed ahead to St. Thomas – like a tropical storm !!!

Opening night is October 14th, 8 days from now. Pieces are falling into place and the show is   getting fine-tuned during this final week of rehearsal.

As long as the cast and band have fun -really have fun with the show–it will be a success. That fun factor is contagious! It will be fun to see how the show evolves, from performance to performance– because in a community theater such as this, each show will evolve and expand upon the previous one.

The band is in place and will coalesce into a rock solid and rocking 6 piece ensemble.

So  “Let the Journey Begin”…

I’ll be playing on the grand piano at Northside Bistro for the first time on a Friday night ! It should be a livelier crowd, which will affect my tune calling. This is such a fine room to play in – the food , the microbrewery, the wine list, and the staff are all excellent. couple that with live music on a grand piano – and this place should be packed every night. Once the word gets out, that’s what I think will happen !!

Look Ma, I don't need to look at the keys anymore.

a frontal view

photo by Paul Dirks

Last night I played to an appreciative crowd of  60 to 70 folks at Northside Bistro. I hope nobody noticed that I was suffering with mouth pain – having recently had 4 teeth pulled and a denture fitted which was slowly cutting into my gums ! Ouch !!

The song that arguably got the biggest applause ( plus a thumbs up from the bartender) was my singing of  the Rolling Stones opus to disco, “Miss You”. Other songs that got nice rounds of applause were “Natural Woman” – I didn’t sing on that one, but played a bluesy, gospel tinged interpretation.  The great Hoagy Carmicheal tune “Georgia”, also got a nice round of applause, as well as the blues,” Big Boss Man”, by Jimmy Reed. Oh yes, and “Satin Doll” by Billy Strayhorn, which for a time, was the theme song of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

I love the staff there !! You can see that they take pride in the establishment, as well as in their respective roles. There is a sense of camaraderie and even a sense of family – from the top on down – that is rare !!

Last Friday night at Hull Bay Hideaway… a few hundred people showed up to express their love and support for two people who have been cultural linchpins of our island community for many, many years ! It was one of those memorable moments, that those of us  lucky enough to be there for … will never forget ! I could go on and on about the wonderful music… but it was more about the Love !

Becca Darling  and Barefoot Davis hosted this incredible evening and did a superhuman job of  coordinating and  orchestrating this event. This was no simple feat – there were many musicians present each of whom,naturally wanted to play- plus raffles, announcements and so forth.  Somehow it all went smoothly !!

It was enthralling to be performing on a grand piano again! I had forgotten how inspiring it is !

Last night I played the first set kind of mellow -  some Ballads, soft Bossa, and medium tempo Jazz , just to scope out the vibe of the room. It was interesting to see which tunes got applause. The two R&B tunes that I slipped in towards the end of the set got the most applause, with the possible exception of the ballad “My Funny Valentine”. A great ballad played well (I thought), is always a formidable crowd pleaser !

The second set I picked things up a bit – played some rocking Blues, Latin, up tempo Jazz, and so forth. The staff was great – they were applauding and giving me thumbs up.

The third set was a real treat. By then I was relaxed with the “vibe of the room”, and Denise Hummer, a fine jazz vocalist  got up and sang a couple of tunes and wowed the room ! In fact Connie, the owner of this fine establishment,  implored her to sing some more, so she got up and closed out the set !

((Mark thisMark this date because “open mike”  night is back in a big way at Latitude 18. Last night we had several fine vocalists – Joe Colpitt, Denise Hummer, Captain Bob White, Jason Jones, and Kim and Rich,  plus the “house band” which consisted of  Barefoot Davis (who did a great job of hosting and MC ing ), plus Ras Abijah on guitar, and Donald Birmingham on bass, and myself on keys!  I loved the spontaneity of the night – each performer brings something new to the table and to see  how the house band responds to each performer is fascinating!!

I'm singing a blues on open mike night

This is me singing and playing “The Piano Has Been Drinking” by Tom Waits. It’s usually a fun day right there on the beach at Ainsley’s with Barefoot Davis, Donald Birmingham, and sometimes Jason Jones and or Bob Ward. The crowds have been really appreciative and spirited lately, and the pizza is brick-oven baked!