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FRIDAY August 14, 1998 On To Big Bear! First of all, the Royal Crown Revue mailing list is big, and there are a lot of listees. I spent much of the morning filtering through the RCR list and several others I joined. I'm going to have to think of something, some way of filtering the e-mail that comes in. I also started the Big Time Operator mailing list which is quickly growing (I didn't know we had so many fans) by leaps and bounds. I think the RCR list gets at least a hundred messages a day, so threading the mail that comes in is crucial. Oh well, I'll just filter and unsub some of the lists, that's all. With the band being very busy, I just don't have the time to be on all these lists. I even have a journal list and a poetry list created. Gotta unsub a few of the lists. I haven't counted, by I know I'm in at least a dozen lists. Started packing for the trip to Big Bear Lake, a ski resort up in the mountains just east of Los Angeles and northeast of San Diego. Our band is to play for the California Swing Camp tonight from 9pm-1am.
Took the boys to their swimming lessons with Cherie at 1:30pm which was tough for me because I needed to get ready for the trip to Big Bear. I was able to drop the boys off with their grandpa after swimming lessons, and then went home to load the drums and get my things ready for the trip.
On The Road... Nate and I left his place after his wife got back from work around 4:30pm. By the time we got the rental car and fllled it up with gas, we were already running late and left Escondido around 5pm. By the time we got to Riverside we ran into horrendous traffic due to a 10 car pileup. Finally, at the base of the mountain which was a 45 minute trip up to Big Bear from here, my right calf started to cramp up on me. I was driving up to this point and had to have Nate take over due to my calf muscle. It was a winding road up to Big Bear, and then it started to rain which dampended our driving even more so. We finally got to Big Bear Lake and somehow got lost in town. After getting our bearings straight, we finally arrived at the convention center where the Swing Camp was being held. It was about 7:20pm.
We Arrive! Better Late Than Never Needless to say, we were late! And everyone was wondering what the hell happened to us, but it was one of those situations where it was just too long of a story to go through. Anyway, we were there and we set up the instruments and got dressed. In the place where my drums were set up, there was a very low ceiling, so that whenever I stood up from my drum stool, if I stood straight up, I would bump my head on the ceiling every time; it was kind of funny actually, being in my little cubby hole playing the drums. The Show Begins... We were well received by enthusiastic swingsters and lindyhoppers once the BTO show got under way. It was a beautiful sight to see all the great dancers out there dancing to our music. Being the drummer, I made sure our tempos that I counted off were perfect for the dancers. And I believe that's what sets us apart from other bands is our attention to detail in the way of tempos. A lot of the dancers are learning the steps and it makes sense to play easy going tempos that they will enjoy while they get used to the new steps. During the break I ran into Jessica. She was beaming and I could tell she was glad to be here at the swing camp. She had been talking about this event for some time now and here she was, finally here. She mentioned the article she wrote about me, and I thanked her again for doing it. She said she had placed a call to CBS which was a factor in getting the network to do some interviews and film some footage for tomorrow. This was such a great thing, to get some national coverage for the swing event and our band. Some say this whole swing revival is The Second Swing Era! With the CBS coverage we're about to get, it establishes that the whole scene is coming into the limelight. Just before our second set, two swing couples, instructors in this swing camp, gave a rousing demo of their incredible talents to the tune "Zoot Suit Riot" by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. They were excellent, and I found out they were the same dancers featured in the music video of Zoot Suit Riot!
Getting To The Honey Bear Lodge The Honey Bear Lodge was where we were to stay overnight. After the gig we found out that we could leave our instruments on the stage for our gig the next day. Nate and I drove the rental car back to the lodge and found out that because we were late, there were no rooms available to us. Our only choice was the living room on the sofas! OK, we dropped our bags off and headed back to town again to try and score some food, we were hungry!! We tried to find an establishment that served a decent meal, but all those places were closed. So the only place in town that was open was a 7/Eleven store! I bought a tuna salad sandwich and some chips, along with rootbeer and the latest issue of Rolling Stone, which featured the review of the swing revival and a review of the latest album from Brian Setzer Orchestra. What caught my eye first was the naked Super Model on the front cover! I mean, she was totally nude... I thought I was looking at the cover of a Penthouse mag. Anyway, we got back to the lodge and everyone there was watching television. It was a movie, "Back To The Future: Part III". I had forgotten how hilarious the movie was. I was listening to The New Morty Show's CD, "Mortyfied!", at the same time I was watching the movie. NMS has great tunes on their album, and Vice Grip and Connie Champgne really crack me up with their vocals, great stuff!!! I guess everyone got tired and went to sleep before the movie ended. I fell asleep listening to CDs on my Sony Discman... what a day!
CDs Played Today:
The New Morty Show - Mortyfied! Poncho Sanchez - Salsa Hits! Arturo Sandoval - I Remember Clifford
There's Something About Mary
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