2005 In Review...
It's only natural to reflect this time of year. Here's a brief review of my 2005.......
I kicked off the new year with a new gig. Chocolate Bar in Lakeville moved into a brand new location and decided to try some music. I secured the position of talent booker. As compensation, I get to book myself there once a month. Our opening weeks were tremendously successful. It's also nice to bring something to do to my own back yard. January found me feeling particulary blessed relative to a lot of folks in the world. I decided to turn an otherwise ordinary gig for Pete Collin and me into a benefit for the people effected by the tsunami in Southeast Asia. I lined up a lot of great performers, had plenty of media attention, got sponsors to donate door prizes, and then had to cancel because of a blizzard. Oh, the bitter irony. We rescheduled for the following week and had a great time. A nice amount of money was raised for the Red Cross, and I got a lot of new experience along the way. I also got to meet some great local musicians who were very generous with their time.
In February, my lessons business was starting to grow with some new students. I also started a new project. An acoustic blues trio with a couple of members of the band Stick Boom Papa. In the spirit of expanding my range a little, I did gigs with Allan Howe, Pete Collin, JoAnn Vaccaro, and Dee Adams. I also played some new venues like Paradigm Cafe' and Java Junction.
March wasn't quite as hectic. A couple of gigs with Pete were very comfortable. The blues trio was evolving as our original bass player found he didn't have the time to be in two groups. Ross Bracco stepped in and added his talents on both bass and guitar, as well as vocals.
April saw the debut of what was billed as the "Steve West Blues Trio" at Chocolate Bar. We were billed as such not because of my ego, but because the owners needed something to put on the marquis and we hadn't decided on a name yet. I also went into the recording studio with Jamie Romeiser, a friend from SUNY Geneseo. We recorded a couple of songs just for the fun of it.
In May, W.B. Blues was our official name, and we had our first actual paid gig at Club 41 in Geneseo. I also put together what turned out to be a great night at Chocolate Bar. I billed it as "Steve & Friends" and invited some people I know to join me. They were mostly people I knew from open mics. They didn't necessarily have enough material to do a whole show on their own, but are certainly talented enough to entertain the folks with what they have. Chris and Brian Swanson, Jeremy Blair, and Tim Shea sang great, and Laurie Leenhouts added just the right touch of fiddle to make it a memorable event.
June got really busy. I picked up some new students for the summer, W.B. Blues had a bunch of gigs on the deck at Club 41, and my friend Bill Brown got me some gigs at the Lakeside on Keuka Lake. I would have to say, however, that the highlight of the summer wasn't a gig at all. My family owns a cottage on Conesus Lake. After talking about it for a couple of years, I decided to throw a party for my musician friends. We called it the Conesus Lake Musicians Picnic. Lots of food, sun, water and jamming. An unexpected, but very welcome treat was the arrival of Joe Dady. Still recovering from a very serious heart problem, he showed us all how to enjoy life. On a sad note, my favorite venue closed down for an extended vacation. Al and Patty left beautiful sunny Canaseraga for dingy old Costa Rica.
Wow, Fourth of July and the year is half over already. After all the playing, I finally got to go to a concert as a fan and just enjoy. My lovely friend Laurie accompanied me to the Syracuse Blues Fest where we saw Roomful of Blues and The Subdudes (my favorite group in the world). I also got to do a gig with the fabulous Andrea Dodge. Well, half a gig. (Get a map, Andrea!) Ok, she got there and it was a lot of fun. More gigs at Keuka Lake and a few guest appearances at Heron Hill winery made it a memorable summer.
With the closing of Canaseraga Hardware, as well as Paradigm Cafe', I had to look for some new places. Luckily Boulder Coffee opened up and started to book some music in August. I also got a gig at the Flipside Bar and Grill. I've met some great musicians at Flipside who have opened some other doors for me. Alas, summer was over before I knew it.
September is the season of change. Back to school means some lost guitar students, some new ones. Pete Collin got married. Jamie graduated from Geneseo and prepared to leave, but not before she did a gig with me at Boulder. W.B. Blues also did a benefit for the Red Cross to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Instead of organizing one big show like I did for the tsunami, I encouraged all of my musician friends to donate the proceeds from one gig to the Red Cross. There was a great response to this idea. Once again, I was very proud of the local music community. One gig that stands out in my mind was the Gallery Night Out at Artisan Works. I was invited to play along with some other great musicians up on the rooftop bandstand. How cool! Chocolate Bar opened again for the fall music series. More gigs and Flipside and Java Junction, as well as some fill-ins at Daily Perks. Busy month, you say? You're right. I lost my voice.
That's right, my voice was gone. I went to the doctor and he stuck a camera down my throat. Oh, I got issues! I won't go into details, but I basically had to take a rest and take care of some problems with my throat before they got worse. I did my lessons, and that was about it. Consequently, October was pretty slow. On the bright side, I discovered a fun new thing. The jazz open jam at Daily Perks. I started going and played some harmonica. It gave me a chance to work on my harp playing without the strain of singing.
In November, I started to ease my way back into some singing. I filled in for Keith Harden at Beale Street, and played a private party at Artisan Works. Under doctor's orders however, my trademark growl was gone.
In December, I started taking some vocal lessons at Hochstein Music School. Learning how to properly warm up and how to breathe while I sing has really reduced the strain to my voice. I'm back to doing gigs, and feeling like my voice is stronger than ever. The month was punctuated with concerts by Wynton Marsalis and James Taylor. The annual Christmas show that Pete and I used to do at Canaseraga was moved up to Boulder. All in all, I'd say it was a nice way to cap the year.
Time moves by so fast. As I've reviewed everything, I can't believe some of it was less than a year ago. It reminds me that we all need to appreciate the good times while they're happening. Take some time to smell the roses.
Happy New Year!
Posted by westguitar
at 8:30 AM EST