Bonus Post: Quote Of The Day

"That's why God made puppies so cute. So you won't kill them. Even though we should."

Full (or no) service

A friend brought his truck in to get the brakes fixed. The mechanic called him back and told him he needed a new transmission and new fuel filter.

He told them to fix the brakes and leave the other stuff alone. Then he took it to another mechanic, who said the transmission was old but still in good shape, and the fuel filter had nothing wrong with it.

I won't put the name of the dealership that tried to rip my friend off. But I know who it is, and I wouldn't buy a car or get it fixed there in a million years.

Word gets around about lousy service.

Blast On The Fourth

What a great night at The Elks ... food, fireworks, great crowd to play for.

Jenny Jenny, who can I turn to? Jenny Selvy is an inspiration. God bless you and stay strong!

Great job by TMO on the drums and keyboards. Truly a Spinal Tap moment when we were interrupted in the middle of "Faithfully" by the raffle ticket winners being announced. Gotta give it up to Mark for keeping us on the groove highway (SIX LANES WIDE), Rock A Bye who was getting nasty on slide and Jack for, well, just being Jack, blowing everybody away on the sax once again.

And it was great to have Pat join us for the second half after he did sound on the river for the fireworks. By the way ... might not be a better place in town to watch them than from the Elks parking lot.

The Funions will be on hiatus for awhile at Gus, work and vacations beckon, hopefully back in August with some shows.

No Garage Sales, thanks

— Sore this morning from mud volleyball in Hannibal Thursday night, and from the Mays Family Picnic and Water Slide of Doom party Tuesday. The water slide is awesome and no wonder it's sponsored by three local chiropractors. You know you are getting old when it takes a couple of days to really be sore ....

— The three-season porch is a perfect place to watch the rain.

— Shey Fey went to a garage sale this morning. Oh, I'm sorry ... an estate sale. Actually can't blame her, because she's looking for a specific advertised item. But sometimes a man, even a big slug like me, has to stick to his guns and just say no.

— Much fun watching the 24th and State fireworks last night. Good company, too. Here's to hoping the rain blows away (that's what the radar shows, anyway) and we have lots of people downtown tonight for fireworks, and at The Funions show at the Elks for our Fireworks Bash.

— Nothing like waking up and going upstairs and realizing Bella The Destroyer has pooped in the hallway. Bella? BELLA!

— The 6-1 senior is no longer a senior, which is strange. In fact, she will soon be a freshman, as in, college freshman. She is back in Q-town after a few weeks up north, unfortunately her summer music trip to Europe didn't happen. It will be nice to have her around because, gulp, she starts college next month. Now THAT is really amazing ....

— I am three weeks away from a two-week Lake Michigan beach and working for Gus vacation. Not sure I will make it ....

— I am hooked on this Facebook stuff. I've managed to keep tabs on my sister's move from Louisville to North Carolina through her kid's Facebooks. Ahhh, 21st century communication.

— Have a safe Fourth, hope to see you tonight downtown!

School Not Bored

I went and played in the mud Thursday night, and missed all the fun at the school board meetings. 

Quite possibly the most riveting online stories The Whig has ever posted .... you just can't make it up.

Click here .... Make sure you read all the related stories.

Elks, Bella The Destroyer

As mentioned before, one of the best parts about this house is the back porch. Right now I'm trying to wake up and I'm watching Bella, our Border Collie puppy, tear apart a large cardboard box in the backyard. 

My mother told a story about me many years ago. I was maybe 2 or 3 years old, we were at Aunt Kay's house, and I was throwing mud against a brick wall in the backyard. My mother and father realized with horror what I was doing, but the legendary Aunt Kay said, "Oh, let him be. He's only having fun!"

So it is with Bella. Sometimes I want to strangle her, until she looks up with those puppy eyes and floppy ears and lopsided grin.

We had a great Funions practice last night with The Mighty One, who purchased a new keyboard. We've added a few songs and at one point last night I was on the drums, TMO was playing harmonica, and we were train-wrecking a blues song into indecipherable and blissful oblivion. Our show Saturday night at the Elks is going to be awesome!

Tonight - mud volleyball. Come see TV guys get their hair messed up.

Emmy, Oscar, whatever

Why Travis Yates didn't win an Emmy, Oscar, Tony, Bluey, or whatever they give out for low-budget films shot in Washington Park, I have no idea. Click here for more.

Mike Provine's "Cups N Clips" should win some sort of award, as well.

Personal Warming

From Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap fame, when asked about global warming:

"I think it's a personal decision."

More here.

Front Street

Lots of activity on Front Street last night. Thanks to everybody who came out to see us at Backwaters. Bombshell Translator of Doom even made an appearance!

Before we started I wandered down the street in front of cutters and watched Chris Weinand, Big Jon Walker, Jeff Gire and Danny Mabie play ... I apologize for forgetting the name of the band, but they were freaking amazing. That's four of the best players in Quincy on one stage, Chris might be the best guitar player in town.

Forget it. He is.

The first leg of our World Parking Lot Tour comes to an end this Saturday at The Elks during the fireworks. Mighty one will be joining us and rumor has it bringing his new keyboard, too ...

Water Heaters

So we've been really lucky with the new house. Everything works great and it's solid as a rock.

Except for the water heater.

It quite working this week. So we track down the former owner, who flipped the house (bought it and fixed it up) and did a great job. Turns out he bought the water heater from some "dude" who used to work for Home Depot. The serial number is ripped off, and turns out the heater "sat in the dude's garage for a few years" before it was installed.

It may not be heating water, but I have a feeling it's plenty hot all by itself.

So ... Shey Fey is all fired up because she gets to make another trip across town, and bring back other stuff she doesn't need.

Also on the home front, HUGE poker game last night with the boys from the office. 

Life is good!

Backwaters

We are playing at Backwaters Saturday night. It will be interesting to see how many people show up.

I am not counting a big crowd. There are tons of events Saturday night in Quincy. Blue Eyed Soul is playing at The Dock, and just down the street from Backwaters, two bands are playing outside by Kutters.

Working in our favor is the heat and the fact it might rain Saturday night, which may drive a few more people inside.

We rely on word of mouth, e-mail and the Net to spread the word about our shows. Sometimes I wonder if it's effective, if we need to advertise more.

In the end, we just show up, play and have a blast, no matter what the crowd is like.

But I will admit - a crowd (big or small) that's into the music is a lot more fun to play for.

So ... come on out Saturday night!

12 strings

So a while ago, geesh, a year maybe, I borrowed an awesome Martin 12-string from Rock A. Bye and restrung it. 

It's been sitting in the case after I played it maybe once or twice, and I need to be hung by the neck until I cheer up for leaving it in there so long.

12-string guitars are awesome and have a rich, full sound. They are also a royal pain in the patootie to tune and keep in tune.

So I dropped it down two steps and that seems to help. 

My fingers on the left hand are chewed to shreds after playing for about half an hour, which means I need to play it more often, obviously .... It even has a thin line pickup (no volume control on the guitar) so I can plug it in to play. There are some Funions songs it would sound good on I think.

Since it's too hot to do much outside, I'll try fooling around with it. Rock A. Bye and I have a Two Deadly Weapons gig coming up, maybe we can get it tuned up enough to actually bring it out in public.

Maybe ....

Too Hot

It's too dang hot to do anything. But I'm good at nothing. So it's all working out.

The air will be on inside Backwaters Saturday night.

Thinking about financial matters makes my head dizzy. It's too hot to sit on the patio and think about it.

So I'll sit under the ceiling fan. 

Stormy Show

Much fun at Turner Hall last night, thanks to the guys (and gal) from Midnight Legend and The Cheeseburgers. Thanks to Mark, Pooh, Big Jon and Rollo for everything. Turner Hall is the best! We'll see if we got any good pics and post them later.

Really bad storm ripped through town about 3:30 yesterday. The power went off at The Whig for the first time I can remember. Click here for more storm coverage.

The above photo was taken of our neighbor across the street, and our area had debris everywhere. At the corner a wire was burning a tree way up high and it took Ameren until the wee hours to get over and take care of it. The fire department even blocked our alley behind the house. This morning Shey Fey and I cleaned up more branches and debris.

The good thing is that nobody was hurt. Some buildings downtown look worse for wear.

Teeth

From Rev. Tim White at last Sunday's Trinity UCC service ....

An elderly man and his wife are in bed. His wife looks over and says, "You never hold my hand anymore."

The old man slowly creaks his tired body closer to his wife and fumbles for her hand.

His wife looks over and says, "You know what? I miss cuddling with you."

So the man slowly and painfully moves even closer and nestles his head under his wife's neck.

She sighs after a minute and says, "Remember when you used to nibble on my ear?"

There's a pause. And the old man bolts up out of bed, swings his legs over the side and begins walking away.

"Where are you going?" asks the confused wife.

"Why, to get my teeth from the bathroom, of course!" the man replies.

Two New Links

Added two links to the page. The first is Travis Hoffman's Q-town, and it's really cool, lots of stuff to see and very informative. Travis worked for us at The Whig for a while and I remember him from his awesome acoustic gigs before he moved a way a few years ago. 

The second is from a guy named Aaron Baugher. I have no idea who he is, but he puts his name on his site and doesn't hide, unlike most of the Web Warriors around here. Some of his entries are ... different. Studying Latin? Okay .... But I like the site.

Breaking Stuff

Here's the proof how much fun our last gig was .... the damaged music stand of doom, wrapped in purple duck tape, hopefully ready for Turner Hall Friday night.

Maybe we can break more stuff.

This is going to be one of the best shows and parties of the year, so don't miss it. We are giving away free cheeseburgers AND Funyons to the first 100 lucky fans. Burt Shackelton is even threatening to bring a microwave so you can have hot and tasty cheeseburgers. No pun intended. And Funions are greasy no matter what.

Crash Goes Music Stand

You know you've had a successful gig at a private party when ....

— The dancing starts five songs into the first set.

— They beg you to keep playing nearly four hours later.

— Your bass player looks at you and says, "We need to learn a few more songs."

— You are playing a guitar solo and a dancer in front of you crashes into your music stand and breaks it.

— You and your bandmates just laugh when it happens.

— You are taking a break and suddenly somebody grabs a microphone and starts singing and somebody else gets behind the drums and starts banging on stuff.

— The host and hostess bring out shots of Uzo for the band.

— Everybody goes home happy.

What a great time at The Spear Compound Saturday night! Jeff bid on us at the CAC auction a few months back, and decided to have a party for about 50 of his closest friends.

Perfect weather, perfect place to play, more fun than should be allowed. Gotta love people determined to have a good time.

Shey Fey took pics, click here for more.

We had The Mighty One playing drums with us since Pat was off bidding good luck to married step-kids, and we played pretty well. Adam brought his keyboard (traction for the lead singer after loading and unloading) and we did some cool stuff like Piano Man, Walking In Memphis and Faithfully.

Jack showed up after a Heidelburg gig and looked sexy in his high socks. He was so into the people dancing and jumping around that we had to yell at him several times when it came time to sax solos, hysterical fun at his expense.

Rock A Bye had a smooth takeoff and landing for Six Days On The Road ... and the good doctor has the gravelly vocal on LaGrange down to a science.

The band made new friends and it proved once again playing music is the bomb.

Give us about a month and maybe we'll recover and we can do it again!

We will regroup and get ready for the huge show this Friday at Turner Hall.

Sports Mirrors Life

Well. What can you say? The Wings did everything but win, everything but put away a pesky Penguins team. I only saw the second half of Friday night's game, and the puck was in Pittsburgh's end the whole time, and the goalie stood on his head. Plus he bounced back from a terrible Game 5 with unbelievable efforts in the next two games.

You just have to give them credit.

That's the great thing about sports, how it mirrors life. Sometimes it's just not fair. You can dominate the opposition and play very well but unless you score, well, it doesn't matter.

The Wings are long in the tooth. You wonder how much gas guys like Lidstrom and Osgood have in the tanks. 

Then again, they almost won their fifth cup in 12 years, and second in a row, something not many pro sports teams can say in this age of salary caps and lack of loyalty.

And .... everybody else has had plenty of tee times this spring and early summer.

Friday Blues

Heading down to Blues In The District tonight. Should be interesting to see how the construction of the water fountain in the middle of Washington Park effects things ... click here for more and a Blues In The District schedule.

Game 7 tonight ...

Playing at a private party Saturday night which should be a lot of fun, we'll have a Compound report Sunday.

Game 7

There's no need for the Game 7 history lesson when it comes to Detroit vs. Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals.

Ancient history lesson, actually. The Wings may have lost in game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in 1964, but that was the year I was born, which means it was at least 1,000 years ago.

When was the last time the Blues played in a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals? Oh, I'm sorry .... NEVER.

Let's look at more pertinent Game 7 history, shall we?

Detroit is 11-1 at home this season. The home team has won each of the last six Stanley Cup Finals Game 7s dating to 1987, and no road team has raised the Cup following a Game 7 since my Montreal Canadiens did in Chicago in 1971.

Pittsburgh could easily win Friday night if Fleury stands on his head like he did in the third period last night.

But I like Detroit's chances.

Poison Stage

This might be the funniest thing I've seen in a long time ... glad nobody got hurt.

See, Poison needs a Stonehenge set so when you get bonked it won't hurt ...

Smart Golf

When you play golf with the boss, it's always a good idea to let him win.

When you play golf with the boss on the same four-man scramble team, it's a great idea to win the tournament, the big cash prize that goes with it, and thank him profusely for making a key birdie putt from the fringe on a tough par 3, then chipping in for eagle on one of the closing holes.

But ... "I don't play golf for money, and I never slice ..."

50-yard line

Had a blast playing at the Relay For Life inside Flinn Stadium Friday night. 

The Funions have played some interesting venues, and this was one of the coolest. Thanks to Pat for the sound, Dave for being behind the board, and  special thanks to keyboard player extraordinaire Steve Buckman, who jammed with us and did a great job.

This just in ... Rock Cola is BACK!

Send Off

Matt,

Didn't come to the funeral today. I hate funerals. Sorry, man. 

I went to the cemetery for the graveside service, and it was a beautiful God-kissed morning.

It took 20 minutes for all the cars to come in. People were lined up across the street in South Park.

One of the clergy told a QPD Honor Guard member he'd never seen so many people show so much respect. Vehicles pulled over and people on the street stopped in their tracks to bid you farewell.

Last night at visitation, your father looked at me through tear-stained eyes and he said, "Matt respected you."

A greater honor has never been given.

I'll come by once in a while, Greenmount is just a skip away from Calftown.

Rest easy, Matt.

No More Line On The Horizon

So we had a big garage sale last week at Shey Fey's old house and I sold a boom box.

Yesterday I bought a much smaller CD player with a lineout so I can plug my lap top into it, and my iPod.

I grab my No Line On The Horizon CD and open it up to christen the new CD player — but there's no disc in the case.

I left it in the old boom box.

So. If you bought a fairly nice boom box at a Calftown garage sale last weekend and found the U2 disc ... help a forgetful brother out, wouldya?

On second thought, never mind. He's a lame-brain and he doesn't deserve to get it back.

Huge Funions Update

Just added two shows ....

This Friday we are playing at the Relay For Life inside Flinn Stadium, 7 p.m., everybody is invited and there is no charge.

Saturday, June 27, BACKWATERS! More details to follow.

Go Wings Go

Haven't had much time to follow YOUR defending Stanley Cup champions as they motor through the playoffs yet again.

You might not like hockey or the Red Wings, but nobody can deny they are a dynasty, and that's a rare thing in today's pro sports climate.

Pittsburgh must win tonight so you'll see some pretty desperate and entertaining hockey.

Matt's Funeral

Visitation for Matt McElfresh is 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at Our Reedemer Lutheran Church, 2701 College, Quincy.

Funeral 10 a.m. Thursday at the church.

Initial obituary is up at the funeral home Web site, click on the obituary link.

For my Whig blog about Matt, click here.

Prayers for Matt McElfresh family

Matt McElfresh of the Adams County Sheriff's Department died early this morning in an off-duty accident.

Click here for more.

I knew Matt and he was a great guy. He worked a lot of big dope cases when he was with the Task Force, and if it got to court and I needed to double check something or find out what was really going on, Matt was always the man.

He was aggressive and dogged and if you were a bad guy and Matt got on your trail .... forget it. You had no chance.

I hate writing about deaths and funerals, and I'm going to hate it more.

But that's a distant second to the huge issue at hand - Matt's family, and his extended family at the ACSD.

Peace, Matt. We are so much better off for knowing you for a short time.

Momentous

After the 6-1 senior graduated last night, she posed with some family, including my sister from Louisville (left), who looks like she just found the lost cap from her camera.

Always a big step, high school graduation. I vaguely remembered mine, it was more relief that anything. I hated high school, and it was mostly my fault.

I am proud of the 6-1 senior. She got a very good education at Quincy Public Schools. Jeff Mays gave a brief talk during the ceremony and he is right — the world is much different and much more complicated than when we graduated just a few, uh, years ago.

So there was a lot of jubilation when everything was said and done.

Lots of fun at the post-graduation party as well, a big thanks to the many parents who volunteered to make it a safe and fun time.

Graduation Night

More busy times .... a house full of Harts here to celebrate the 6-1 senior's graduation tonight. God is blessing the event with beautiful sunny skies.

I went upstairs early this morning and there were bodies everywhere, on floors, on beds, on futons. They were all slumbering peacefully.

Also have four dogs co-existing quite nicely, thank you. The big backyard is HUGE.

Should we survive, we'll update Saturday or Sunday.

Breaking In The House

For a most excellent account of our Memorial Day, click here.

I will never tire of sitting on this back porch, even with a big storm rolling in. Lucy The Border Collie of Doom used to hide in the bathtub at Sheryl's old house, now she just sort of pants and flops on the kitchen floor.

Sheryl is getting ready for another garage sale, a perfect time for me to find something else to do, like, oh, I don't know — have a daughter graduate from high school!

Rain On The Roof

Finally, FINALLY, a few minutes to ponder life.

We are settling into the new Calftown house. Shey Fey has set up the wireless and I'm enjoying the sound of the rain on the metal roof while sitting on the back porch.

Gus Macker was great as usual, perfect weather Sunday. There were the usual knuckleheads and incidents, a few ambulance calls. The Quincy Notre Dame football team was amazing helping us tear down yesterday, wish other tournaments had it figured out like we do in Quincy.

And a big big big HUGE thank you to the Exchange Club.

Dream Court was dreamy as usual. The Special Olympics guys and gals played Saturday morning and it was a hoot.

Saturday night's Funions gig at the firing range was awesome. We have a guy filling in on drums in a couple of weeks for a private party, The Mighty One, and he set Saturday's event up to give us a sort of a "live practice" — I thought we played very well. What I really liked about it was our sound system, not too loud and everybody could hear.

Gus showed up with the Macker crew and they were totally in awe of Jack playing the sax. Who wouldn't be? Apparently there is some video shot on a Blackberry floating around out there ....

So today is finally a piddling day to get some stuff organized, set up the music room, etc. Shey Fey is running around with an electric screwdriver and is in total home improvement heaven. The chaos will continue this week when the 6-1 senior graduates from QHS, family coming in, etc.

At least we have place to put them!

A word on comments: I appreciate feedback and will post just about anything, but foul language isn't tolerated. If you don't like it, tough. It's my blog and I'll cry if want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to ....

Moved

This is a form of therapy, but all I'm gonna say is THANK GOD IT'S OVER. Mostly over.

Thank you to Chief and sons, Devon White, Dr. Brei, John Frank, Tom Miller. You saved my life. Not my back, but my life.

We are officially in the new Calftown residence, with  about a month's worth of stuff to arrange. Part of the moving fun ...

Gus is this weekend, can't wait for Dream Court again, come see us at Fifth and Maine.

Setting up tonight for our big Firing Range show Saturday night.

So other than that, nothing is going on .... WAIT. Forgot to mention, huge June 19 show at Turner Hall with our friends The Cheeseburgers!

Last Monroe Post

Big move tomorrow a few blocks north ....

This is my last post from my Calftown refuge of the past four years. This place has been very good to me. I regained some sanity and lost just as much of it here. 

I love living in Calftown and I'm very excited about the move, the house is awesome.

Many thanks to Bob Pribble, a great guy to rent from. Thanks to Mike and Lynn and the neighbors.

I will miss this place. A lot. But another chapter begins and I cannot wait!

Might be offline for a few days ....

Farewell JT

Quincy lost a giant today with the passing of John Tripp.

His blog, published every Monday, was always well-written, funny, touching and positive. 

He was a gifted public speaker and one of the funniest men you will ever meet.

His greatest joy late in life was being a grandfather.

Prayers to family and friends.

All New Songs

Holy storms Batman ...

During Funions practice last night, we did nothing but work on new songs. Well, new to us. Dave Dudley, Cheap Trick, Johnny Cash and more have all been Funionized.

Hate it when all these bands in town steal OUR songs .... pffffffttttt.

No Show Saturday

The benefit at River's Edge Saturday has been canceled.

Our apologies, and we are sorry we won't get to hear our friends Midnight Legend play.

If it's rescheduled, we'll let you know.

On the bright side ... big July 4 show at the Elks!

No Paradise Here

A few months ago we played a really fun show at The Paradise at 10th and Hampshire, and scheduled more shows for this month and this summer.

Unfortunately the bar has changed management, so we are no longer booked to play there.

We do have some other stuff lined up, including big July 4 plans!

Summer Music

Summer approaches and The Funions will stay active.

We have a show Saturday at River's Edge Mall, 1131 Bonansinga Drive, a fundraiser for the Jackson-Lincoln Pool. It starts at 7 with our friends Midnight Legend.

We are having some fun Memorial Day Weekend with a Saturday night show at the old firearms range off of South 12th. Adam Yates will be playing drums for us and this promises to be a really fun night.

Still working on one other June show, as well.

We played and practiced a lot the past few months. Many times The Funions have played and we've always had that teetering thing where we were not sure of the songs, etc. But the past year it's gotten a lot better, and it felt really good a week ago Sunday at Turner Hall during the Can Jam. Almost like we'd figured it out ....

However, we will never lose sight of the fact this is just a bunch of guys who like to get together and play music. Serious fun!

Bridge fun

Had a blast Saturday at the Bridge The Gap To Health Race. Click here for coverage, here for the official race blog site.

So many people to thank ... Kurt Stuckman, race organizer; the hundreds of volunteers, Jamie Blaesing, Dana Bowman (click here if you want to read about a real American hero), Pat Cornwell for the sound system, the list goes on.

The cool thing about the race and walk is the setting. Right on the river in our best river park, with a German Heidelberg band playing on one side and Bartholomew playing over by The Pier. Watching the nearly 2,000 participants cross both bridges is amazing.

Anne Mays walked with four generations .... and we had to persuade her NOT to bunge jump on the Memorial Bridge. 

I confronted QND Principal Ray Heilmann about his steroid use. We all know Ray is HUGE and he was the one supplying Manny Ramirez. At least Ray fessed up. That's just Ray being Ray.

I saw a lot of city and county officials volunteering their time, including one city guy who took care of Dana and worked traffic details. I almost took picture of his car in the Pier parking lot and posted it on this blog .... well, I didn't bring my camera. But if anything develops, I'll report it here.

What a great event for Quincy!

Posting, Blues In District

Life itself is getting in the way, so the posts may not be coming as frequently in the next few weeks.

We'll be getting ready for the May 16 show to help Ben Bumbry's Jackson-Lincoln Pool fundraiser. Working on getting a show together with The Cheeseburgers at Turner Hall, as well.

Blues in the District also kicks off next month, here's the schedule ... all shows in Washington Park, Quincy, 5-9 p.m.

June 12 - Avery Brothers
June 26 — Smokin Joe Kubek
July 10 — The Blue Healers
July 24 — Moreland & Arbuckle
Aug. 7 — Lil Dave Thompson
Aug. 21 — Bill Lupkin
Sept. 11 — Mississippi Heat

Whew!

What an amazing music weekend.

First off, great times on the Dogwood Parade float. Trinity even won a trophy of some kind. Thanks to TMO, Adam Yates, for powering us along with great drumming. The weather even cooperated. Adam - we will never play before that many people again, or until you play with us next year again.

Saturday night at South Side Boat Club was ... interesting. The crowd was into it and I think we sounded pretty good. Thanks to Ray Mabie for letting us hang out. We will have to do it again.

Sunday was Turner Hall's Can Jam, and holy crap was it fun. Turner Hall is my favorite place to play in Quincy, great stage, good vibe, etc. Chris played with us (we gave him Saturday night off since he was breaking, er, breaking in his new house) and I thought we played really well. Cheeseburgers and Raised On Radio also did a great job, even if they were stealing our songs — you didn't know I wrote "Play That Funky Music ..." ????

I need a two-week nap.

Sore Fingers

HUGE music weekend. Let's hope the weather holds for Dogwood Parade tomorrow morning. Playing with the Trinity UCC band, we will be Mighty indeed with our drummer!

Have not had time to play guitar much lately. Yesterday afternoon I had guitar lessons, followed by a 90-minute Funions practice, followed by a 90-minute church practice. 

Sore fingers this morning, serves me right for not staying in shape.

Let's rock!

Puppy + Food = poo

Meet the newest member of the family - Isabella, or Bella, a Border Collie mix.

Somebody can't say no and decided despite the chaos of a Calftown move, huge medical adventures and just life itself, a puppy would be a good idea.

Bella is a cute little thing with the biggest paws you've ever seen. She galumps around, much like her hoggy friend Woody.

Shey Fey says Bella is "bursting with poo" when she has to go out, and we've discovered it's true the hard way. 

Bursting With Poo would make a great title for a Funions CD, or a hard rock band. Or a Will Ferrell movie.

Anyway, Bella has already been to the doggie doctor and had pills prescribed for poo bursts.

Reportedly I've received permission to use the phrase "Bursting With Poo" in a newspaper column. Reportedly.

Wecome Bella!

South Side, Can Jam info

Saturday, May 2
8 p.m. to midnight
THE FUNIONS
$2 for SSBC members, $4 for non-members

Sunday, May 3
Mid-Mississippi River Muddy Water Blues Society CAN JAM!
1 p.m. - The Funions
3 p.m. - Cheeseburgers
5 p.m. - Raised on Radio
Turner Hall, Quincy
Admission: 5 canned goods or $3.

Rain Everywhere

So I go up north and I walk the beach and get blown sideways by 40 mph winds.

No big deal. Head up the stairs, head back to town, it starts to rain ... and it didn't stop FOR 30 FREAKING HOURS.

A bit wet in West Michigan. At least when I woke up this morning it was raining here. Made me feel right at home .... At least we are in the midst of spring, as opposed to bare trees and grass just starting to turn green.

Busy music weekend looms. Dogwood Parade Saturday morning with the Trinity UCC group, South Side Boat Club Saturday night, Can Jam at Turner Hall Sunday afternoon. 

I-290 should be outlawed. Always great when it takes you an hour to drive 10 miles in downtown Chicago. The next person who complains about waiting at a stoplight in Quincy will be hung by the neck until they cheer up.

April Beach

Heading north to take the 6-1 senior to her Blue Lake Orchestra practice, she's Europe-bound once again this summer, the lucky girl!

I will walk the Lake Michigan beach Saturday and remember my mother. Hard to believe I spread her ashes in the crashing waves four years ago May 2.

Speaking of May 2, The Funions are getting it cranked back up for a huge show that night at the South Side Boat Club. 

My mom will be smiling from above, I'm sure, even when I forget the words ....

Preaching

I was accused of preaching yesterday.

So be it. The events of earlier this week prompted a talk with the 6-1 senior.

Look. She is a great kid. She is an A student, doesn't hang out with the bad crowd, has a college scholarship waiting, the whole world in front of her.

She can make her own decisions, her own choices.

Sorry about the preaching, but it made me feel better. All it takes is one bad choice and your whole life changes.

Going South

Much fun again at the South Side Boat Club Jam. We were the first band t0 play and I was amazed at the number of people who showed up. Again, I thought the band played well and Abe was on fire on the sax as usual.

The sound was much better this year - Big Jon and Rollo ROCK!

I am thinking of Frank Calkins and his many friends on the one-year anniversary of his passing.

And .... Calftown all the way!

Playing In The Thunderdome

I have decided after a freaking amazing night of music that Backwaters is the coolest place to play in town.

It's got an amazing double-tiered stage.

The Brockmillers have added second-floor seating, and it reminds me of the Thunderdome from the Mad Max movies.

It just has ... character.

We had the full band together for the first time in quite a while, and good grief was it fun. Wireless is the way to go ... did you know it takes about 15 seconds to run from one end of the second floor to the other?

Thanks to all who made it out. We raised money for Quanada, got our message out about their services, and everybody had fun. Special shutouts to The Mighty One and his much better half (much more on him in upcoming posts), QPD CSI, the other gal who keeps forgetting to change her name, all the courthouse gang, just everybody.

Pat Cornwell, who was with Chris Thursday night, then showed up at 1 p.m. Friday to keep setting up.

Thanks to Bailey, Cheeks McGee, Blue Healers, Fielder. Happy birthday Alex Tappe! Sorry about midnight shot ....

I left about 1 am. and Fielder was still rocking out. God bless you, Sondi Brockmiller, for letting us use the place.

The Blue Healers were spectacular as usual .... they are a band which could do some damage, in my opinion.

Fielder? What else can you say? I've run out of superlatives.

Cheeks? You Da Man. You Da tenured high school music teacher of doom MAN!

Bailey - thanks. It takes guts for a young person to get out there and play in front of friends and family. What a great voice! Go see Pat at Vegas Music and maybe we can get you hooked up with a nice guitar to boot!

Rocky? Were you there? Maybe I missed you ....

Now we rest up and get ready for a half-hour set at the South Side Boat Club Sunday at noon sharp.

Face Melt

Chris and Pat Cornwell set up last night for our show at tonight's Rock Against Rape event at Backwaters.

Chris and Pat are interesting to watch when they hook up a PA. They are constantly figuring out what goes where and analyzing the room, equipment, etc. We've learned the best thing to do is to occasionally help them with heavy stuff but for the most part just stay out of their way.

Vegas Music is doing the PA for this Monday's big Royal Bliss show at Backwaters, so Chris and Pat brought out the heavy artillery.

Reminds me of Jack Black in School of Rock: "Now let's go out there and MELT SOME FACES!"

Bring your earplugs ....

Big Music Weekend

Two huge shows this weekend ....

FRIDAY, Rock Against Rape, Backwaters, 130 N. Front, 6:30 to midnight.

7 p.m. - Cheeks McGee

8 p.m. - The Funions

9:15 - Blue Healers

10:30 - Fielder

SUNDAY, South Side Boat Club Jam, 640 S. Front, noon to 9 p.m.

The Funions 12:00-12:30
Movin On 12:45-1:15
Pike Station 1:30-2:00
Cheeks Mcgee 2:15-2:45
Thru The Ashes 3:00-3:30
NoWake 3:45-4:15
Blue Eyed Soul 4:30-5:00
Son of James 5:15-5:45
Fielder 6:00-6:30
Predawn Hour 6:45-7:15
Torque 7:30-8:00
Small Time Crook 8:15 to 8:45

Eastern (warning) Story

The day before Easter, a man goes to Wal-Mart with his two sons. As they round the corner in the home improvement section, one son cuts off dad with the cart. Dad's little toe smashes into a decorative rock display, peeling the nail off the toe.

Dad stands there bleeding.

SON NO. 2: There must be a First Aid station here somewhere.

SON NO. 1: Dude, this is WAL-MART.

Dad goes back to the car, son No. 1 finishes shopping.

Moral of the story — shopping carts are hazardous to your health, and don't go shopping with your sons the day before Easter if you expect to hop around today.

HAPPY EASTER!

Guitar Chris

Chris Cornwell is our guitar player for The Funions. He is also an awesome drummer with Fielder. Lately Chris has been busy with a new house and wedding plans.

Wednesday night he was back for his first practice with us in a long time — it was great to have him playing with us again!

April and May are going to be busy for The Funions ....

Election analysis

A day after municipal elections .....

— Had to laugh when I read one candidate saying there were alleys in better conditions than the streets in his ward. Pffffftttt .... come on over to Calftown, pal. 

— I'm wondering how many people were waiting to make up their minds as the campaigns wore down.

— Why would you vote for a candidate who says they are pulling out but it's too late to take their name off the ballot? By the way, I like the fact two new faces will be on city council, both guys look like they have a lot to offer.

— The voter turnout sucked. Don't complain if you didn't vote. Both parties, however, should take account of the massive voter apathy.

— When are all these signs going to be picked up?

— I'm just glad it's over.

— The school board election in Quincy was verrrrrrryyyyy interesting .... I tried telling a certain person that Bud Niekamp would get the most votes, and the person scoffed at me. Oh well. 

— Would you ever consider running for public office? Didn't think so ....

Sports Time

Baseball season has started. Except for the year after the strike, I can't recall a time I have cared less.

Huge dud in the NCAA Tournament championship. UConn vs. North Carolina would have been a much better game. Thanks, MSU.

Masters starts Thursday. Will Tiger win on mended knee? 

Six weeks or so until Gus comes to town ....

And ... NHL playoffs start next week. Les Canadiens are struggling to get in. So are the Blues. Hockey will be much better if both make it.

Voting

Mayoral races highlight election day in Quincy.

Get out and make your voice heard!

Jesus Was In Show Choir!

I saw Quincy High School's New Faces 2009 edition Friday night.

Holy Crap!

This is basically QHS' talent show, and there's a ton of talent. All we hear about these days is teachers being let go and school board members dissing each other as an election nears, so it's refreshing to see what this is really all about - the students.

The show revolves around musical, dance and comedy acts. I thought Less Than Defeated did an amazing job with the orginal song "Dream Catchers." Loved Keyana Turner's "Killing Me Softly" rendition. Jacob Campell played an amazing acoustic guitar piece for his parents called "25" in honor of their 25th anniversary (more young people should learn to play guitar like Jacob). The Ska Band's "Good Thing" rocked!

Amanda Saul was huge, huge, HUGE, with a piano and vocal rendition of Counting Crows' "Color Blind."

Two minor bones of contention. Racing Rag Dolls did a fine version of "Love Song," but 311 DID NOT WRITE THIS SONG. It was done originally by 1980s band The Cure.

And "Higher Love" is a Steve Winwood song from the mid-80s, not the 70s, but the Show Choir did look good in their hippy outfits.

Just sticking up for my era, that's all.

I am not a huge dance fan, but Jaclyn Frost and Ian Taylor were spellbinding in "Come On Get Higher."

Then there's the comedy. Who was that 6-1 senior who impersonated Kathi Dooley in Gem City Squares? "Jesus was in Show Choir!" she said. The place came unglued.

Ginny Helmer, Lindsay Vo and Emily Hart were fantastic in 57 1/2 Tacos skits. The Cool Beans thing had the place in stitches, reminded me a lot of Whose Line Is It Anyway. Their farce Show Choir treatment was even funnier after thinking about it for a few minutes.

Last night tonight. There were only a few empty seats Friday, not sure if any are left .... if you can, check it out!

Take a nap if you go .... it's 3 1/2 hours, but it moves fast. There was a tremendous amount of work done to make it so seamless .... great lighting and technical work too.

Young people at their best.

Rock Against Rape

This is gonna be a blast ....

Birthday Names

I stay away from off-color stuff and moronic humor on this site. There are too many people who are too good at it around here as it is.

But ... I could not resist this ....

Remind me to never submit anybody's name to a radio or TV station for a happy birthday shout out ....

Change The Date

April Fool's has officially been changed to April 3 this year so it can fall on a Friday.

Thank you.

Now We Are Legit (Edit)

There's a first time for everything, and every gig is an adventure ....

So Friday night Mark, Pat and I played for Warren Riley's birthday at the Paradise. We started at 7:30 and the crowd was small but into the music and we had a blast.

More and more people started showing up. This is a small bar to begin with, and we crammed all the stuff in the front, then locked the front door. 

Thanks to Keith Franx and Warren for singing with us ... spirited renditions of Roadhouse Blues!

So we are rocking away at about 10:45, and as we are nearing the end of our last set, a Quincy Police Department officer walks in. He very politely tells us they've had two complaints of loud noise, and he asks us to turn it down.

I could tell it was probably the last thing he wanted to be doing, but he was just doing his job, no complaints here.

This bar is in a residential area and they have to be good neighbors. We played a few more songs and that was that.

"Usually when the cops come I just turn it up," Pat said.

The Funions usually don't play in bars, and we've never been officially told to turn it down, though we are always told we are too loud.

That aside (and we won't even talk about near-brawl in the parking lot), I thought we played pretty well. You really have to pay attention when playing at a 3-piece band. No beer and running around without caring in this lineup .... it was still a blast, and I hope Warren had a happy birthday.

No Golf On The Horizon

Supposed to go to Norwoods today with some other Whiggers who are off today.

Ooops.

Hate it when that big green blob on the weatherchannel.com map gets closer and closer and closer ....

At least we didn't get out there and then get hammered with rain.

Instead I went out and bought the new U2 CD, No Line On The Horizon.

My initial impression after listening to every song is that when you get to be a 40-something rock star, you can write stream of consciousness songs and everybody will still buy your new CD.

Just kidding. Sort of. U2 is so freaking pretentious, but they don't hide it. Part of the charm, I suppose.

The other thing about these songs is that U2 really should just have Eno and Lanois join the band and play weird instruments on tour, then mute them in the mix.

After a first listen, I like Magnificent, Moment of Surrender and Breathe.

The others will grow on me, like most of U2's CDS.

Buying Candy Bars

So I just got a knock on the door and it's the little girl from down the street, selling candy bars for Berrian School.

Berrian has a special place in my heart, and how the heck can you say no when those big brown eyes peer up at you and she points out the five different kinds?

Plus I'm a chocoholic.

Anything for Mrs. Reis, Mrs. Frank and the awesome people at Berrian. 

Hearing Yourself

Went to The Dock last night to hear Slick Woody, one of Quincy's better classic rock bands.

The singer, Todd Hessling, showed off some new inner ear monitors and said they were awesome. Hearing yourself on stage when you play is a huge issue for bands and to be honest, there have been very few nights playing with The Funions where I've been able to clearly hear what we sound like from our view.

Most bands rely on a PA with monitors, speakers in the front pointing toward the band. With inner ear monitors, each band member can adjust the mix to hear what they want. Kevin Vandament of The Classics swears by them and if you watch any big time band, look carefully at their ears, they look like hearing aids. Actually, that's what they are!

Slick Woody had some sound issues. It resulted in them naming a new song, "I Can't Hear &^%$#," which I thought was pretty good! They just bought the inner ear monitors and were working out the bugs.

The mark of a good band, however, is to overcome sound issues and still play well, and that's exactly what the guys did Saturday.

I'm hoping to get The Funions booked into The Dock this summer, their outdoor stage is one of the better venues in Quincy.

Upcoming Shows

Couple of updates for shows ....

Mark, Pat and I are playing a week from tonight at Paradise Bar, 10th and Hampshire, for Warren Riley's birthday.

April 17 is Rock Against Rape and features Cheeks McGee, Blue Healers and Fielder at Backwaters. This will be one of the biggest and best shows of the spring.

Two days later is the Southside Boat club jam. We are kicking things off with a half hour set at noon sharp.

More shows planned for this summer, stay tuned!

Green, as in grass

Wore a bit of the green on St. Patrick's Day - Westview Golf Course style.

Got to play with Lynn and Dennis Semerad. A crowded golf course isn't so bad when it's a perfect March day.

Because of my back I've had to alter my swing. I'm trying not to take such a vicious cut at the ball.

Wouldn't you know it - the smoother you swing, the better the results. Who'da thunk it?

Sore? Yes. Ready to do it again? Absolutely ....

HEY! TAKE ME OUT!

So my golf clubs have been tucked away since last August. Just thinking about swinging a club made me wince after a bout with Unable To Stand Upness. 

It will be 70 today. I am not working. The clubs are talking to me ....

View From The Ice

Went to the Wings-Blues game Saturday and was in awe most of the time.

Sitting five rows behind the bench of YOUR defending Stanley Cup champions will do it to you.

Shey Fey got the tickets. Holy crap! I've been to a lot of hockey games but never this close. TV just can't do justice to the game .... the speed, skill, precision, how big the players are, how they absolutely smack into each other.

It's a lot fun seeing the jawing and behind the play stuff.

Unfortunately St. Louis had it's big St. Patrick's parade right in front of Scott Trade Center, so getting to Union Station was impossible. There's a reason you leave early for St. Louis events.

Eventually we ended up near 18th Street and parked in the Glas Haus lot, then walked the half mile to the arena. Beautiful day, nice walk, plenty of time to see the warmups, etc.

No live hockey experience is complete without DSG. You know, Drunk Stupid Guys. They are usually about 25 years old, always have a $9 beer in their hands, and they bellow the whole game. They never really swear or completely go over the line, but they make fun of the Red Wings fans, goading them with stupid comments. Then they get even more mad when all you do it point to the scoreboard or just smile and ignore them. Finally, at the end of the game, the usher came up and told them to shut up.

Part of the deal, I guess. Bet it will take a bottle of Asprin to make those morons feel better this morning.

Anyway, great game (for Wings fans), nice walk back, nice German dinner, no traffic on the way home.

If you ever get a chance to see an NHL game from a good seat, don't pass it up!

Unwigged ....

This Is Spinal Tap is the best movie every made. Everything else is tied for last.

So .... glad to see the boys are still out and about. Just with they'd come to St. Louis, or at least closer than Chicago.

The interview after the performance is priceless.

Playing anywhere

So tonight I am covering a meeting for work. After the meeting there is a "debriefing" just down the street.

If you think I find this stuff out sitting at a desk, you are thinking wrong.

Anyway, I'm sitting there getting the scoop when I notice Dave Scharnhorst and some of his Irish RagTag band crew come in. Seems they just got done with a gig and were have a post-show nip of the Irish spirits.

The next thing I know, they break out their instruments and it's a full-blown Celtic jam session.

Wouldn't you know it - there was a story and more about them today, click here for more.

These guys (and gals) really are guerilla musicians - they will play anywhere, anytime, anyplace!

Start-ups

Something has to fill the void.

Dinner Parties

The thing about being hired to play at a dinner and event is that you are at the whim of the organizer.

That's the way it should be, and no complaints here.

The Funions were honored to play at the Children's Action Network dinner last night. Thanks to Erin and Clairice for taking care of us. Also a big thank you to Mark Aleman from Tony's Too at the new Holiday Inn. If there's a harder working guy in the restaurant bidness, let me know.

This is the CAN's major fundraiser, and we could tell it was going to be a while before we got up to play. The auction took a long time, past 10 p.m. So Pat, who is all about playing anytime, anyplace and anywhere, grabbed my guitar, sent Rockabye out to get his acoustic, told Jack to grab the sax, and we set up in the lobby and played acoustic.

After a short set on the stage, it was nearly 11 p.m. so we called it quits. Mark Aleman said we could set up in the bar and keep playing, but there were a bunch of happy party-goers in the corner who asked up to play, so we obliged, as the photo shows.

Music is so much fun, plugged in or out, on stage or off, at a party or in the backyard.

Also, we were auctioned off and The Funions will be bringing the World Parking Tour 2009 to Jeff Spear's place of choice in the very near future. 

All good ... except losing that hour!

It feels better when ....

— The work week is done.

— You clean the house on a Saturday morning. I had no idea we could open those windows ...

— You set up for a show the night before. Tonight's CAC dinner promises to be .... interesting!

— You get an important furnace question answered. Click here.

— You get ready to take the Calftown Border Collie of Doom for a long walk to Greenmount Cemetery.

— You realize your most important function in the afternoon is to watch golf and nap, and not necessarily in that order.

T Shirts

The Funions now have T-Shirts!

Ted's Shirt Shack did a bang up job for us. They are $10 and available at all Funions shows, Woodland Cemetery on warm spring afternoons, Calftown in general and wherever fine jewelry is sold.

Beautiful Day last night in New York, by the way ....

Live

Quite possibly the best Letterman Top 10 List yet ... click here.

The problem with Youtube is that you hear these songs live before you hear them on a CD, and the live versions are often superior. 

Magnificent song here ... and last night's debut of another new song here.

All Week

U2 plays all week on David Letterman. Too bad I'm too old to stay up that late. Plus I might accidently have to watch the end of the local news.

This song is really starting to grow on me. 

New album is out today.

Still Here

Sorry about the lack of updates. That's one of the things I harp on about other blogs, and too many in Quincy aren't kept up. Let's just say work has been challenging and life itself keeps happening, www.whig.com today for more and you'll know what I mean.

Getting ready for the CAC dinner Saturday - Elvis will be in the house at the new Holiday Inn, a venue we have yet to play in.

One of these days I'll compile a list of the all the places The Funions have played. Unless I sit down and really think about it, I'm not sure just how many there are!

Open Paradise

Pat and I went down to the Paradise Tuesday night for Warren Riley's open mic night. It's a lot of fun and it's good to play in front of people ... there were a ton out and about last night.

Hope we can come back!

JT's Town

I've been remiss for not putting John Tripp's most excellent blog on the links.

He writes every Monday about life in Quincy, or life in general, and it's very well done.

Missing On Purpose

Missing on purpose ... click here.

Thanks to all who showed up last night for our U2Charist. More events in a similar vein are planned.

Saturday night was crazy at the South Side Boat Club. They've done a great job rebuilding the bar, and The Cheeseburgers played very well. 

Footwear and Italian Movies

Some provocative footwear HERE .... The future needs a big kiss!

Saw some of the QHS boys game last night on Senior Night and gotta hand it to Goo for pronouncing 3 billion names without a hitch.

Nice tribute to Mr. Ellerman, as well.

Then went home and watched "Life Is Beautiful," about a Jewish father, his wife and young son during World War II. The movie is in Italian and uses subtitles, which takes some getting used to.

But it sort of grabs you about a third of the way through, and the end will wrench your heart and make you laugh.

That's two good ones in a row, "Once" and "Life Is Beautiful."

U2Charist, more music

Please join us Sunday, 7 p.m., Trinity United Church of Christ, 24th and Cherry Lane in Quincy, for our U2Charist worship service.

I've put together an awesome band - Craig Sparks on drums, Devin White on bass, Megan Guthrie on keyboards, Jamie Davis on vocals, Rev. Wally Carlson on guitar, the incredible Burt Shackelton on sax and me staying out of the way. Mostly U2 songs, an original or two, maybe a few surprises.

It's for the Unmet Needs Committee in Quincy and to promote U2's One Campaign for African poverty and debt relief.

This will not be a traditional church service. There is no offering, but there will be opportunity to give if you want. There will be communion. There will be no sermon. And you will hear from someone who has lived the life of poverty and was helped to overcome it.

If you have a fear of church, this is all the more reason for you to come. Yes, this is a praise and worship service, and yes, the message is powerful. It's up to you what you get out of it, but there's no obligation.

Just come out and rock with us!

Jumping Ship

Hmmmmmmm...... This bidness changes all the time.

Tap Is Back!

I've always had a healthy respect and bitterness for Spinal Tap, because The Funions were Spinal Tap before Spinal Tap was Spinal Tap.

So it did my heart good to read Spinal Tap is coming back ..... HOLY CRAP.

Click here for Nigel's hysterical Stonehenge theories.

Watch "Once" Twice

Watched two moves last night, one among the best I've ever seen and the other among the worst.

"Once" is about a struggling and broken-hearted Irish street musician (Glen Hansard of The Frames) who meets fellow musician Marketa Irglova. Fantastic songs, realistic portrayals of the song-writing and music experience, and maybe the best ending to a movie you will ever see.

The song "Falling Slowly" won an Academy Award two years ago. 

Then came "Righteous Kill" with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. Terrible, just a wretched and awful film. Do not waste your time renting this movie. Both time-honored and decorated actors Pacino and DeNiro go through the motions with this lame-plotted, profane-laced and feeble attempt to be cool flick. 

I only made it through about an hour. I couldn't care less how it ends. Rare is the movie that both bores and annoys you. This is one of them.

Rent "Once." And watch it at least twice.

You Got The Blues

So a certain somebody, let's just say this person lives in Calftown, got her tax rebate early and decided to invest in a pair of Blues-Red Wings tickets for the March 14 game in St. Louis. 

Not just any tickets .... six rows behind the Detroit bench!

I've been watching the Blues games. I'm glad I'm not a fan. If I were, I'd probably want to shoot myself, but they are a young team with some promising players.

Like Blues fans haven't been hearing that for the past decade ....

Horrible loss in Nashville the other night, inexcusable to get scored on with three seconds left.

Great win against Chicago Friday night. A few more like that and there might actually be a glimmer of playoff hope.

So ... I wish the Blues well and want them to win. Except for March 14, of course.

One Last Time

Last home game tonight for the 6-1 senior. Bittersweet, for sure.

And hard to believe. Wasn't she just a freshman running around out there?

Excellent Funions practice last night, despite Pat recovering from a bout with death. Jack is back blowing his horn after major dental surgery, we are learning a bunch of great songs for the March 7 CAC dinner at the old Holiday Inn.

Also had a great time at Mike Terry's JWCC class today. Good group of kids, good questions about writing and the newspaper bidness.

Jack and I are playing at tomorrow night's Evening Under The Stars at First Union. We'll miss Alan but we'll soldier on ...

More shows

Just a little bit hectic right now ... lots of music stuff coming up.

The Funions will be playing at the Blues Society's Can Jam May 3 with The Cheeseburgers and Raised on Radio, two of Quincy's best bands. 

U2Charist preparations continue for the Feb. 22 service at Trinity United Church of Christ, 24th and Cherry Lane. Unmet Needs and U2's One campaign are the focus, along with great songs and a very different worship experience.

Live Love Laugh, as a friend likes to say ....

Sun

I am sad about the ice leaving us for another season.

But ... the sun feels good today. Gonna dust off the grill tonight. 

This was a really tough week, so it will be nice Saturday to have Senior Day for the QHS girls, 2 p.m. at home (QHS Gym, high school) vs. Jacksonville Routt.

Sounds of Lincoln

Quite an honor for the 6-1 senior .....

No Time To Breathe

As a rule, I don't discuss work bidness on this blog.

But late last week I told somebody things have kind of been slow.

I might as well just taunted the work gods, because this has been as busy a week as I can remember.

Proof? Click here and here. And that's just today.

You just never know when mayhem will hit ....

Shows

Next two Funions shows ....

Saturday, March 7, Clarion (Old Holiday Inn in Quincy), Children's Action Network dinner.

Friday, April 17, Backwaters, Quincy, Rock Against Rape (Benefit for Quanada). Features The Funions, Fielder, others TBA.

Beat Daddies

Went to The Club last night at 1oth and Chestnut to hear The Beat Daddies from Evansville, Ind.

Wow ....

Great band, great songs (originals and covers), great company, fun night! Click here for more band info, hopefully they'll be back this summer for our Bluesfest.

Off to Peoria today to see the 6-1 senior play in the All State Honors band concert, first chair oboe!

Another thaw

The Grawe boys came over to The Pond this week for a huge inter-school pond hockey battle with Team Stegeman.

Team Stegeman let Old Guy play with them. Old Guy is very impressed with the number of good skaters and it was an awesome time. Both sides had 12 players so we did line shifts every few minutes.

I believe Team Stegeman won. I believe they let Team Grawe score a few goals here and there just to make them feel better. 

The ice was chippy yesterday. This weekend's thaw might actually help get the crud off the ice and flatten out the surface. Cold again early next week, might get in a game or two.

Then the thaw really hits toward the end of the week, and that will likely be the end of pond hockey this season.

Found out Boyers sharpens skates and they do a really good job.

Buh Bye Gov ....

Buh Bye, Rod.

I am ashamed to share the same name.

I am ashamed to live in the same state. I'm ashamed you were voted into office twice.

I am relieved you are gone.

I am sad the snake oil you've been trying to sell us can't be returned.

Buh Bye, Rod.

Two Places

We were fortunate in Quincy to dodge a pretty nasty storm yesterday. It careened just south of us and left a trail of ice, slush and debris.

My sister and dad live in Louisville, which got smacked hard by the storm. Judging from the photos, they'll be cleaning up for a while down there.

My brother, on the other hand, lives in Phoenix and is still pinching himself about the Cardinals. 

Dealing with 70 degree weather must be tough, too ....

Get On Your Boots

The first single from U2's "No Line On The Horizon" is out.

Give "Get On Your Boots" a listen here.

You can never tell what you will get with U2, though the last two CDs were more of the powerhouse U2 older fans remember. 

This song is basically "Vertigo" on steroids, strange but captivating the more you listen to it.

More info on the CD here.