I signed up for the Godfreys’ Open Mike and unwrapped Crazy Cause He Is from my old Dan Hicks repertoire. I hadn’t played in too long but did a decent job of it, but I really have to sit down with it one more time to get it back into shape. Still, it’s amazing that I have recall, especially with a tune that has pretty sophisticated lyrics. This is the venue to try these things out.
Since Ed McKendry was in the house, I invited him up to play on the second one and he suggested Lessons From Pete. I had done a fairly lousy job on it the last two attempts so I was glad to try to get its feet back on the ground. We pretty much nailed it tonight with the jam at the end building nicely, backing down to a whisper and finishing with the final couplet. It was a righteous effort.
Still, this open mike continues to amaze. Sam Steffen had two new songs. Ed had two new songs he had written this week!!. Bill Hall and Jackie Tice did MaryJo Tonight with spectacular harmonies and restraint. This is a wonderful stage to play on, in front of these good friends that gather every two weeks on a Sunday night.