Dear
ya’ll,
Where do I begin? It has been a complete summer and now fall since I’ve
written home. So much has happened the past few months. There’s no way now
that I could ever write it all down! There’s just not enough time. Ya’ll got
to remember, I’m still a hunt and peck kind of computer guy. It’s takes me a
while to write a letter! But bear with me and I’ll just skip through the
months as I can.
My summer was
fairly uneventful. We did the normal mid-west swing with a few great festivals
along the way. John Catt’s fest. in Winter Park, CO is always a happening
thing. I had fun hanging a bit with Jimmy Hall. I didn’t get to jam with him,
but we yakked a bit. The Mississippi Valley blues fest is also a biggie. We got
in a night early and hung with a bunch of players for a couple of days. Dawn
Hopkins recorded the deal for that Beale St. Blues Caravan and it turned out
just as good as
our last live CD that the band has released! Other than that, the rest of
the summer was some of our favorite club venues like Uncle Bo’s in Topeka, KS,
Harlingen, TX with the Blues On The Hill gig and
St. Louis, MO.
I fronted the
Pittsburgh Blues All-stars at the Pittsburgh Blues Fest on July 26th. We had a hell of
a band going on that day! We performed the "Rock My Soul" CD along with a few of Norman’s tunes, a few of Zack Weisinger’s
songs and a few from Sharie Richards. It was pretty dang cool!
The first week of August we did a three day run through Columbus,
Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. That
was pretty much routine. I did miss Elaine’s graduation from nursing school,
but that’s part of being a road dog. I’ve probably mentioned the missing of
many personal little things in about ten or so letters home! Ya’ll know
that’s when all the shit happens in our home life! I’ve always said that the
first couple days after the tour has started is when all the stuff goes wrong
that normally never happens! Just out of nowhere a pipe will burst somewhere
under the sink between the stove and flood the kitchen. Or a fountain will start
shooting from the garbage disposal and goo is dripping from the ceiling! I fear
the call will come that one of the kids fell on the playground and broke an arm
and I’m on a flight to Kalamazoo somewhere!
Elaine and I were married on August 9th in Pocahontas, VA. It
was a small ceremony with
a handful of friends and family. It was an outdoor deal and we could not
have asked for better weather. Now, I’m
not a big soapy opera kind of guy, but I gotta say this was a rather beautiful
wedding if I say so myself.
Our friends and family came from near and far. My cousin Mike Stutso and his
family drove in from the Detroit area. My dear friend, Carter
Button drove all the way from IN with a B.B.Q. smoker in tow and handled all
the food. Holy moly! He went way far and above the call of duty on
that one!
We may not have had a throng
of people, but what few we had ate damn good!
Earlier
in the year I had
committed to play a festival in Wilmington, DE on the 10th, that’s
right folks, the day right after the wedding, with downbeat at 12:30 PM!!
So that meant doing the wedding thing, schmoozing a short time, getting a
quick, small bite of all this fabulous food, cut the cake in a hurry, throw the
bouquet, change clothes, jump in my van, leaving our own party at 8 PM and
driving all night arriving Wilmington by 4:30 AM. We had a 10:00 AM lobby call
to go to the festival grounds. We got there
only to be held up by an incredible rainstorm. There were even tornado warnings!
The weather broke and we finally took a damp stage at 2:45 PM. Then turned
around and drove back to VA. We didn’t really do the honeymoon thing. We
already have two children and the childcare plans kind of fell through on us
with no notice. So we just hung out for a couple of days taking care of marriage
things and took the kids out of town for a day or so.
I had one show left to do in WI with the Drivers. After the Big Bull Blues
Festival, I gave notice to the band and departed as of August 25th. We had a lot
of fun in those 18 plus years. We went arm in arm through Europe on 19 tours
over there. We've laughed our way across all 50 states, rocking the nation at
the same time! We all put out a lot of great music together. But things and time
change. I felt it was time to stretch out and play some other kind of music for
a while and see what happens! I'm always gonna be a blues drummer but remember,
my background was in rock and roll. I'll be forever grateful of getting the
chance to play and tour as I have with Jimmy. Those guys will always be close to
me inside no matter which direction we all go. They will continue on as will I.
Now we'll have different things to yak about! We can tell each other how we're
doing!
So now let's just start all over with what's going on since my move to
Pittsburgh. I'll tell you a small bit about the move. We filled up a 24 foot
truck from front to back, top to bottom. I did have a couple of fellows and
Elaine's mom and uncle to help load this thing. And we couldn't get it all!!!
Damn, ya'll wouldn't believe that we loaded that entire truck from a small
apartment! I got the truck to Pittsburgh where I, myself unloaded 98% of it
alone.! 'Bout killed me! Good 'ol Moondog sent over a couple of extra backs and
we got the heavy stuff off. Then I had to go right back to VA, rent a second
truck and get the rest of our stuff!! I loaded and unloaded that one alone.
Nobody likes to move. It really sucks! But now the relocation is done. I'm still
doing the business thing of having accounts transferred and stuff like that. I
dig my new house! Well, it's not new but to us it is! I
have found the people in my neighborhood to be kind and generous so far. I hung
out my big West Virginia flag and a few folks stopped by after they went and put
on that PITT shirt!! We've had fun with that! They took my daughters to the
Pizza Hut while Elaine and I moved furniture around, another brought us a loaf
of pumpkin bread.
It has been about 9 years or longer since I've lived in the "city".
I've missed it. I mean, my home in WV/VA is still going to be the most beautiful
place I have, and will ever know. But man, it's the 'burgh! I'm in Pittsburgh
and my family seems to love it so far. I've always loved it here. I know it's a
place where industry once was and is no longer. You don't hear much about it in
the national music spotlight. But there's some players and writers here that
have more creative talent in their little finger than most folks have in their
entire body! I feel fortunate to hooked up with a couple of them.
Ya'll know all about my first solo CD by now. Well, up here, I'm getting the
chance to maybe record a second one pretty dang soon! We're going to be sure
this one won't take several years to complete! Darn near 1/2 the tunes are
written already and waiting! I'm excited and not looking back! I've started
doing some shows with the Norm Nardini band. Whitey Cooper, Norm's drummer since
forever wanted to take a bit of a break and give his vintage drum business a
little more attention. Check out his site and go say hey to him! coopersvintagedrums@verizon.net
He's one of my favorite singer/drummers and one hell of a person. Call him, go
to his site and give him a bunch of crap and tell him I sent you! He'd love it.
He loves a good joke and a prank!
I did my first gig with Norm's band Saturday night, Oct. 25th at the Windsor
Hall in Cumberland, MD. We backed up Bubs McKeg on this one. I had never met
Bubs before this gig! What a great singer and player. I would welcome the chance
to work with him again! We started the night with 2 of Norm's tunes and one that
I sang on. Then Bubs took over the rest of the set. He even did a couple tunes
solo and we all left the stage. All in all a fun night and a great crowd!
It was a bit of a change for me. For 19 years I was on auto pilot. I knew the
material in and out. After joining something new, I had to think again! There
were arrangements to remember, words to pull up! Norm's music is a bit
different. There is a bit more structure than what I was used to. Plus it's
gonna be a bit more rock and roll. I wanted different, I'm going to get it! I'm
anxious to learn what Norm has to teach.
So ya'll, that's what I'm doing for now. I'm gonna do dates with Norm throughout
the rest of the year. I'll have the dates posted, some of them already are! I'm
hoping to land that touring band when the new year starts. But now, if Norm's
thing starts getting heavy, we'll just have to see! I may even pick up and start
my broadcasts on supertraxx radio again. Maybe I'll try and feature Pittsburgh
artists like the Lou Lou and Ringbell show features the DC players! There's a
lot going on up here now and I'll try to keep up as best I can. Remember, my
Rock My Soul CD is still out and available thru contacting me directly through
my web site. I love ya'll and sorry it took so long to write.
I'll be back out there again soon, I promise! The sticks WILL resurface! Next
weekend, I will be on drums with Norm again at Excuses in Pittsburgh. It's going
to be worth the trip! Come on down and we'll share a big 'ol plate of Perogies!
Believe,
Mark
Your
friend in
Mark